Biggest Thing in Universe Found—Defies Scientific Theory(http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/371/cache/space151-black-hole-ulas-j1120-0641_37166_600x450.jpg)
QuoteTalk about a whopper—astronomers have discovered a structure in the universe so large that modern cosmological theory says it should not exist, a new study says.
Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, an international team of researchers has discovered a record-breaking cluster of quasars—young active galaxies—stretching 4 billion light-years across.
"This discovery was very much a surprise, since it does break the cosmological record as the largest structure in the known universe," said study leader Roger Clowes, an astronomer at University of Central Lancashire in England.
For comparison, our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is just a hundred thousand light-years across, while the local supercluster of galaxies in which it's located, the Virgo Cluster, is only a hundred million light-years wide.
National Geographic (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/01/130111-quasar-biggest-thing-universe-science-space-evolution/)
Giant "Blob" Is Largest Thing in UniverseKate Ravilious
for National Geographic News
July 31, 2006(http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/images/060731-giant-blob_big.jpg)
Japanese astronomers have discovered what they call the largest object in the universe: a colossal structure 200 million light-years wide containing galaxies and gas clouds. The structure, seen here in a three-dimensional image, is reportedly 12 billion years old and may hold clues about the formation of the earliest stars and galaxies. Image © Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan QuoteJapanese astronomers have discovered what they call the largest object in the universe: a colossal structure 200 million light-years wide that resembles a swarm of giant green jellyfish.
Using the Subaru and Keck telescopes on the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, the research team found an enormous object containing clusters of galaxies surrounded by gas clouds known as Lyman alpha blobs.
Because the object is so far away, the astronomers are actually looking at something from 12 billion years ago, a mere 2 billion years after the universe is believed to have been formed in the big bang.
This young galactic blob could reveal how and when the earliest galaxies formed.
National Geographic (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060731-giant-blob.html)
Largest Thing In The Universe Found: 4 Billion Light Years BigQuoteAn international team of astronomers, led by academics from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), has found the largest known structure in the universe. The large quasar group (LQG) is so large that it would take a vehicle travelling at the speed of light some 4 billion years to cross it. The team published their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
(http://www.uclan.ac.uk/news/media/roger-clowes-image.jpg)
Credit: UCLan
The colored background indicates the peaks and troughs in the occurrence of quasars at the distance of the LQG. Darker colors indicate more quasars, lighter colours indicate fewer quasars. The LQG is clearly seen as a long chain of peaks indicated by black circles. (The red crosses mark the positions of quasars in a different and smaller LQG). The horizontal and vertical axes represent right ascension and declination, the celestial equivalent of longitude and latitude. (http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/press/skydist_small-LQG_CCLQG.jpg)
Credit: R. G. Clowes / UCLan
The map covers around 29.4 by 24 degrees on the sky, indicating the huge scale of the newly discovered structure.Before It's News (http://beforeitsnews.com/space/2013/01/largest-thing-in-the-universe-found-4-billion-light-years-big-2452936.html)
4 billion light years in size is colossal! That would relate to nearly 1/3 the radius of the known visible from earth universe.
A single collection of objects that forms a cohesive grouping 4 billion light years wide should bring into question again, how big really, is this universe of ours? Of course, if one accepts that the "universe" is "infinite", as many of us believe, then while size may be interesting, it really has little relevance to relevance.
However, as we learn more about the detail of this gigantic collection of quasars/galaxies, we may come to learn more about what is really "out there"!
Absolutely massive! :o
4 Billion light years, wow! If the universe is infinite, then this is probably only a baby :)
Quote from: rdunk on January 14, 2013, 04:49:20 PM
Of course, if one accepts that the "universe" is "infinite", as many of us believe, then while size may be interesting, it really has little relevance to relevance.
I once saw a scientist (I don't remember what area she worked in, but it was related to space) saying that scientists don't really know if the universe is infinite or not, but that she, personally, would prefer for it to be infinite, because if it's finite, then what's outside? :)
I love these discoveries. ;D