A team of astronomers has discovered the largest known structure in the universe, dubbed “Quipu”, which spans 1.3 billion light-years across and contains 200 quadrillion solar masses. This massive superstructure is made up of galaxy clusters and clusters of galaxy clusters, and is thought to be the longest object in the universe.
The discovery was shared in a new paper on the preprint website ArXiv on January 31, which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. The researchers used data from observations of distant structures in the universe, taking into account the shift in wavelengths toward the red part of the electromagnetic spectrum, known as redshift.
Quipu is estimated to be roughly 13,000 times longer than the Milky Way galaxy and potentially makes it the largest object in the universe by length. It was named after an Incan system of counting and storing numbers using knots on cords.
The researchers also discovered four other giant structures, including the Hercules Corona-Borealis Great Wall, which stretches 10 billion light-years across but its existence remains disputed. Together, these five superstructures contain a significant portion of the galaxy clusters, galaxies, and matter in the observable universe.
The discovery has sparked interest in understanding how large-scale structures have affected the evolution of galaxies and the universe as a whole. The researchers believe that Quipu is an important physical entity with characteristic properties and special cosmic environments deserving attention.
The study is part of a long-running effort to map the matter distribution of the universe at different wavelengths of light, providing valuable insights into the nature of the cosmos.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/astronomers-discover-quipu-the-single-largest-structure-in-the-known-universe