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Largest Structure in Universe Discovered

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Vodsel

Vodsel

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Note in space.com.

Astronomers have discovered the largest known structure in the universe, a clump of active galactic cores that stretches 4 billion light-years from end to end.

The structure is a large quasar group (LQG), a collection of extremely luminous galactic nuclei powered by supermassive central black holes.
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And here you have the paper published in the Royal Astronomical Society Journal.

This supercluster of 73 quasars (almost doubling the record number so far in large quasar groups) is astonishingly huge, and it broadly challenges the current estimations for large scale homogeneity in the Universe. The cosmological principle seems to need some revision.

The scales in the attached picture are Mpc (mega-parsecs). One Mpc equals approximately 3,62 million light years.
 

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There just seems to be more and more info about the fractal nature of the universe!

Thanks for posting this up! Such a cool thing.
 
nen888 said:
..yes thanks again Vosdel..

i've heard some astrophysicists now believe the size of the universe to be at least 1000 hubble volumes (i.e 1000 times the size of the visible, or ever observable, universe) !
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So does that alter the estimated age of the universe? I wonder, because they calculated the time but running the expansion backwards. Maybe they didn't use the size in this calculation?

That's pretty mind-blowing! I wish I could actually understand how big that is. I know it's at least bigger than a banana, right? :p
 
nen888 said:
..yes thanks again Vosdel..

i've heard some astrophysicists now believe the size of the universe to be at least 1000 hubble volumes (i.e 1000 times the size of the visible, or ever observable, universe) !
Click to expand...

The fact that the universe can even have something like a size is the most wtf part about this whole thread..like where the hell is something that size being parked?
 
If there is anything that exist without a border nor a point of origin, it's a fractal, problem solved.

Face it fractal-brothers, you are all in every source point of me and vise versa, what an orgasm, seems good ole God was a naughty one after all.
 
nen888 said:
i've heard some astrophysicists now believe the size of the universe to be at least 1000 hubble volumes (i.e 1000 times the size of the visible, or ever observable, universe) !
Click to expand...

And as soon as there are enough astrophysicists believing that, it will be :)

The scale of a system seems to keep stretching as we improve the range of our measuring tools. The limit seems to be in our observation capabilities rather than in the system itself... the next big leap might come once we are able to use something other than the EM field in our sensors.

Mr. Peabody said:
So does that alter the estimated age of the universe?
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Not directly, but it does violate Einstein's cosmological principle. It says that, in large scales, the universe should look the same (isotropic) no matter the direction and point of observation. That large scale limit was calculated to be 1.2 billion light years, and this LQG exceeds it by far. So it might be the first time Einstein is proved wrong.

Jees said:
If there is anything that exist without a border nor a point of origin, it's a fractal, problem solved.
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Seems to be, but fractals are thought to be isotropic in space. Anisotropy has been regarded to be a deviation from fractal behavior, but 3D analysis of biological patterns suggest anisotropy might be an intrinsic property of a given pattern. I find particularly cool that large scale structures in the cosmos show the type of variability we could find in ecological processes, where the components react to the environment according to their own configuration and needs.

I believe the cosmos shows a fractal structure and behaves following holographic principles, but we are barely scratching the surface of that behavior.

jamie said:
where the hell is something that size being parked?
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Light on a 3D object produces a 2D shadow, and light in a 4D object will produce a 3D shadow. Space structures are probably like the 3D projection of a hypercube, and if we formulate the "where" question from a 3D vantage point, the only fitting answer I can think of is "within".

cyb said:
(Does anyone else think Vodsels picture looks like a molecule?)
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Particle clusters, also random fractal systems, are often expressed in cuboids like that one.
 
What if this large structure is just a molecule, in some cell in some larger life form; and this life form is pondering its own existence looking up at the stars from some "perceived" tiny planet in the boonies of some random galaxy? :shock:
 
I've heard the universe is always expanding at the speed of light, so really there is no actual size, maybe a growth rate equation in terms of years since creation?
 
Vodsel said:
Light on a 3D object produces a 2D shadow, and light in a 4D object will produce a 3D shadow. Space structures are probably like the 3D projection of a hypercube, and if we formulate the "where" question from a 3D vantage point, the only fitting answer I can think of is "within".
Click to expand...
Space is huge. We are small.
Space is small. We are huge.
___________________________

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
-- William Blake
 
Vodsel said:
The limit seems to be in our observation capabilities rather than in the system itself...
Click to expand...
That seems to be the nature of reality in general.

There's always another level. 😉

Great post, thanks for sharing it.
 
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