The cosmic web is a mysterious structure woven from dark matter filaments. Its existence allows for the construction of hypotheses regarding the formation and evolution of galaxies since the Big Bang event. However, the cosmic web has remained invisible to humanity until recently when, as reported in the specialized journal Science, the enigmatic structure of the universe was unveiled during observations of the Aquarius constellation using the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT).
Galaxy Clusters SSA22
Galaxy clusters are the most tightly connected structures in the universe, held together by gravitational forces, and can contain hundreds or even thousands of galaxies. Based on computer models, astronomers predicted that over 60% of the hydrogen mass formed during the Big Bang event would diffuse into incredibly long gas filaments, crisscrossing galaxies and forming the cosmic web.
At the location of an ancient galaxy cluster named SSA22, approximately 12 billion light-years from Earth, they discovered a gigantic grid woven from delicate hydrogen gas threads that extend far beyond the boundaries of this cluster.
Thanks to the information provided by the E-ELT, the team of experts could identify the extremely faint gas filaments connecting the younger galaxies of the SSA22 cluster.
The discovery has helped reinforce the hypothesis that hydrogen gas formed during the Big Bang event was woven into a network of many interlaced hydrogen filaments throughout the universe. At the intersections of these filaments, galaxies began to form and continuously received a supply of hydrogen gas to develop.
Birthplace of Galaxies and Black Holes
The latest observational results indicate that the massive gas filaments’ intersections are the birthplaces of supermassive black holes and many rapidly star-forming galaxies. Hideki Umehata, the leader of the team and an astronomer at the University of Tokyo (Japan), asserts that this is evidence of the cosmic web’s existence and its role in shaping the structure of the universe as we observe it today.
Co-author Professor Michele Fumagalli, an astrophysicist at Durham University (UK), joyfully commented, “We have finally found a way to map out the cosmic web and move forward to understand its role in coordinating the formation of supermassive black holes and galaxies.”
“Observing the most delicate and vast structures in the universe is the key to understanding how it evolves, as well as determining how galaxies develop and mature,” added a member of the research team, astrophysicist Erika Hamden from the University of Arizona (USA), as cited by The Guardian.