Astronomers have identified an extraordinary rotating structure in space, the largest of its kind ever recorded. Using data from South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope, an international team of researchers led by the University of Oxford has pinpointed a filament of galaxies that stretches approximately 50 million light-years and contains 280 galaxies. This groundbreaking discovery offers fresh insights into the formation and evolution of galaxies.
In a study published in March 2024 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the scientists detailed their observation of a “razor-thin” string of 14 galaxies measuring around 5.5 million light-years in length and 117,000 light-years across. The significant finding is that many of these galaxies appear to be rotating in alignment with the overarching filament itself.
“This is the largest individual spinning structure so far detected,” said Lyla Jung, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and one of the study’s co-lead authors. She noted that while this structure is remarkable, there may be other, even larger spinning structures that have yet to be directly detected with current data and telescopes.
Researchers believe these galactic filaments exert a greater influence over the spin of galaxies than previously understood. “What makes this structure exceptional is not just its size, but the combination of spin alignment and rotational motion,” Jung explained. She likened the phenomenon to a theme park’s teacup ride, where each galaxy is akin to a spinning teacup while the entire platform—representing the cosmic filament—rotates as well. This dual motion reveals how galaxies may acquire their rotational dynamics from the larger structures surrounding them.
The filament is suggested to be relatively young, identified as being in a “dynamically cold” state, which indicates that the hydrogen-rich galaxies within might still be gathering gas to form new stars. This offers a fascinating glimpse into the early stages of galactic development. “This filament is a fossil record of cosmic flows,” stated Madalina Tudorache, a postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Cambridge and co-lead author of the study.
The study also analyzed the swirling gas within the filament, which may enhance the capabilities of future observational efforts, particularly with the European Space Agency’s upcoming Euclid mission and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. “This is a very exciting time to work in this field, as our capacity for discovering such structures is increasing with the advent of better radio and optical surveys,” Tudorache remarked.
The findings contribute significantly to the understanding of cosmic structures and their role in shaping the universe. As researchers continue to explore these vast phenomena, the potential for new discoveries remains substantial, offering deeper insights into the complex web of galaxies that make up our universe.
