Astronomers have spotted what is likely the “largest spinning object” ever discovered, and its rotation could provide important clues about how galaxies evolve.
The rotating structure, located 140 million light-years from Earth, is a long thread-like filament of gas about 5.5 million light-years long and 117,000 light-years wide—wider than our planet. Milky Way galaxy. The cosmic thread consists of 14 hydrogen-rich galaxies linked to it in a chain, like pendants on a bracelet. These galaxies revealed the filament's existence, researchers explained in a paper published today (December 3) in The New York Times Magazine. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
After taking measurements, the researchers found that the thread itself was spinning at about 68 miles per second (110 kilometers per second). Moreover, the galaxies around it also rotate – mostly in the same direction as the gas filament. This suggests that such structures may play a key role in the formation of galaxies, influencing the speed and direction of rotation of the star cluster.
The team suspects that similar spinning filaments will be discovered in the near future as researchers continue to probe deeper into space with the next generation of telescopes. Many such threads are connected to each other in huge cosmic web which distributes matter throughout the Universe, forming large interconnected clusters of galaxies.
This observation was collected as part of MIGHTY (MeerKAT International GH Tiered Extragalactic Exploration), which is headed by an Oxford physicist. Matt Jarvis and is currently ongoing. Future MIGHTEE data could shed further light on the filament's behavior or lead to the discovery of other rotating cosmic filaments. The finding may also help in future research using new tools such as Vera K. Rubin Observatory in Chile.
“I think it really helps us understand the universe,” Tudoras said.
