A cluster of galaxies in the C-EAGLE simulation shows a portion of the image with filaments similar to those detected in reality.
The colored map simulates the newly discovered structure: a cluster of galaxies is formed at the crossroads of this cosmic network.
In the cold space wild, apparently distant galaxies hold together, resisting the call of black holes. In the darkness of great distances it is a "mesh", a network, a gas road that keeps them united and connected to each other.
This intergalactic gaseous network is known in cosmological models as the “cosmic network”. Formed by long filaments of hydrogen left behind by the Big Bang, the network contains most of the gas in the universe (more than 60%) and is also a storehouse of substance for the creation of new stars. At the intersection of these "gas paths" galaxies are born: this is the theory.
The filaments of the cosmic web had never been directly observed before, because they are among the "weakest" structures and easily obscured by the reflection of the galaxies that surround them. Now though, in a study published today in Science, researchers have assembled the first photo in history showing this “gas highway” that gives life to galaxies and connects them together.
The merit is all of the cooperation of some of the most sensitive terrestrial telescopes.
“These observations of the largest and thinnest structures in the universe are key to understanding how our universe has evolved over time,” says Erika Hamden, an astronomer at the University of Arizona observatory who was not involved in the research. “They are the tip of the iceberg, it is a network that connects the entire universe”.
A dark road
The new study finally clarifies a reality: this gaseous network has filaments so thin that without a glare from the galaxies it would be indistinguishable from cosmic darkness.
And indeed the discovery was made using galaxies like flashes.
Using an instrument called the “Multiunit Spectroscopic Explorer” on the European Southern Observatory, researchers focused on an ancient group of galaxies located in the constellation Aquarius. Using the reflection of light from young, forming stars, they were then able to draw a rough map of this network.
The structures observed
Researchers have detected two parallel highways of gas connecting galaxies millions of light years away, crossed by another highway connecting them transversely. The gas filaments seem to nourish the forming galaxies like blood vessels in a womb, pumping hydrogen directly into the centers of newborns and black holes.
The limits
However, the study of this structure is still very complicated. The weakness of the filaments makes them difficult to detect, and for the same reason only the most enlightened ones are detectable.
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