Why in news?
Researchers at the University of Oxford recently announced the discovery of a razor‑thin cosmic filament about fifty million light years long. Within this giant structure they found fourteen gas‑rich galaxies neatly lined up and rotating together. The finding challenges existing models of galaxy formation and highlights the role of filaments as highways for matter in the Universe.
Background
Cosmic filaments are vast, thread‑like structures made of galaxies and dark matter. They form part of the “cosmic web” that connects clusters of galaxies and surrounds enormous empty voids. Gravity pulls gas, dark matter and galaxies into long strands; where these strands intersect, large clusters grow. Filaments serve as conduits along which pristine gas flows to feed the growth of galaxies and nurture star formation.
The discovery in detail
- The newly discovered filament stretches roughly fifty million light years and hosts a straight line of fourteen hydrogen‑rich galaxies spanning about five‑and‑a‑half million light years.
- Observations made with South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument revealed that the galaxies rotate in the same direction as the filament itself.
- Scientists liken the structure to a rotating teacup: the galaxies and the filament spin together, suggesting a direct link between the motion of galaxies and the larger‑scale cosmic web.
- This alignment challenges current theories that predict galaxies should tumble randomly; it points to a need for updated models of galaxy formation that include the influence of filaments.
The discovery provides a natural laboratory to study how dark matter and gas interact on the largest scales. By tracing the motion of galaxies along the filament, astronomers hope to refine our understanding of how matter flows through the cosmic web, how galaxies acquire their spin, and how large‑scale structures evolved over billions of years.
Source: TH
