Early Strands of the Cosmic Web Discovered by NASA

Key Highlights :

1. Scientists have identified the earliest strands of the Cosmic web that, scientists believe, used to exist 830 million years after the big bang.

2. The new research finding has revealed that galaxies are not scattered randomly across the universe. They gather together not only into clusters, but into vast interconnected filamentary structures with gigantic barren voids in between.

3. These newly identified filaments will further evolve into a massive cluster of galaxies, akin to the well-lnown Coma Cluster in the nearby universe.

4. It is believed that the ‘cosmic web’ originated as tenuous and became more distinct over time.

     The universe is a vast expanse of galaxies, clusters, and filaments that have been forming since the Big Bang. In its latest findings, NASA has identified the earliest strands of the cosmic web that existed 830 million years after the Big Bang. This thread-like arrangement of 10 galaxies was discovered by the ASPIRE project, A SPectroscopic survey of biased halos In the Reionization Era.

     The cosmic web is a vast interconnected network of galaxies, clusters, and filaments. It is believed to have originated as tenuous and become more distinct over time. The newly identified filaments will further evolve into a massive cluster of galaxies, akin to the well-known Coma Cluster in the nearby universe, believes NASA scientists.

     The discovery was made from the ASPIRE project, which is dedicated to studying the cosmic environments of the earliest black holes. The main aim of the project is to understand how to incorporate the emergence of the earliest massive black holes into our current story of the formation of cosmic structure.

     The thread-like structure of 10 galaxies that existed 830 million years after the Big Bang was anchored by an active galaxy known as a luminous quasar. Quasars are galaxies with an active, supermassive black hole at its core.

     The discovery of the cosmic web's earliest strands was a surprise to the team, as they had not expected to find such a long, distinctly thin structure. “I was surprised by how long and how narrow this filament is," said team member Xiaohui Fan of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

     The ASPIRE project is observing 25 quasars that came into existence within the first billion years after the Big Bang, known as the Epoch of Reionization. This project will provide insight into the formation of the cosmic web and the emergence of the earliest massive black holes.

     The discovery of the earliest strands of the cosmic web has provided scientists with a better understanding of the universe and the formation of cosmic structure. This research will help to further our understanding of the universe and its evolution over time.

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