Cosmic filament
Why in news?
In December 2025, astronomers identified one of the largest spinning cosmic filaments, located 140 million light-years away, stretching about 50 million light-years long with a core row of 14 hydrogen-rich galaxies aligned over 5.5 million light-years, all rotating synchronously with the filament itself.
About cosmic filament
- Largest Structures: Cosmic filaments, also known as galaxy filaments, represent the largest known structures in the observable universe, forming elongated threads that span tens to hundreds of millions of light-years.​
- Cosmic Web Component: They are integral to the cosmic web, connecting galaxy clusters and superclusters while surrounding vast voids, creating a web-like pattern of matter distribution.​
- Composition: Primarily composed of dark matter with embedded galaxies, gas, and ordinary matter, filaments act as highways funneling matter from low-density voids toward dense nodes like clusters.​
- Dynamical Role: Filaments emerge from primordial density fluctuations and tidal fields, defined by phase-space singularities such as A3 and D4 types, driving gravitational collapse and multistream flows.​
- Scale and Spin: Typical lengths reach 50 million light-years or more, with some exhibiting spin due to tidal torques; they host hundreds of galaxies and influence star formation.​
This structure, observed using telescopes like MeerKAT and DESI, acts as a "fossil record" of cosmic flows, influencing galaxy spin and star formation. Earlier in 2025, direct imaging captured high-definition views of filaments, confirming their role in fueling galaxies with intergalactic gas.​​
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