Astronomers discover 'Quipu', the single largest structure in the known universe

By Stephanie Pappas
published 10 hours ago

Newly discovered Quipu, a superstructure in which galaxies group together in clusters and clusters of clusters, is the largest known structure in the universe in terms of length, scientists claim.



An image of a supercluster outline in pink and blue blobs
The Shapley supercluster was one of five giant structures detected in a new study of the local universe. Previously regarded as the largest superstructure in space, it has now been eclipsed by at least four others, including Quipu. (Image credit: ESA & Planck Collaboration / Rosat/ Digitised Sky Survey)


Astronomers have discovered what may be the largest-scale structure in the known universe — a group of galaxy clusters and clusters of galaxy clusters that spans roughly 1.3 billion light-years across and contains a mind-boggling 200 quadrillion solar masses.

The newfound structure is dubbed Quipu after an Incan system of counting and storing numbers using knots on cords.

Like a Quipu cord, the structure is complex, made up of one long filament and multiple side filaments. It spans roughly 1.3 billion light-years (more than 13,000 times the length of the Milky Way), potentially making it the largest object in the universe in terms of length, beating out previous record-holders such as the Laniākea supercluster.

The discovery was shared in a new paper posted on the preprint website ArXiv on Jan. 31. (The paper has not yet been published in a peer reviewed journal, but has been accepted by the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.)

. . .

Quipu was the largest superstructure the researchers discovered in their datasets, but they also found four more giant structures. The smallest, the Shapley supercluster, was previously known as the largest superstructure ever discovered. It's now been eclipsed by Quipu, plus three others: The Serpens-Corona Borealis superstructure, the Hercules supercluster, and the Sculptor-Pegasus superstructure, which stretches between the two constellations that give it its name.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/astronomers-discover-quipu-the-single-largest-structure-in-the-known-universe