Tag: Cosmic Web
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Where normal matter really hides in the universe: baryons beyond stars and planets
Introduction: the missing matter mystery When people look up at the night sky or point a telescope at distant galaxies, they see awe-inspiring structures made of stars, planets, and other luminous objects. Yet most of the universe’s ordinary matter—from protons and neutrons that compose atoms—doesn’t live in those bright islands. An active area of research…
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Where the Universe’s Normal Matter Really Lives: Beyond Planets and Stars
The mystery of the missing baryons When we gauge the universe, we count normal matter in the form of baryons—the protons, neutrons and electrons that make up atoms. In the local universe, most of these baryons don’t reside in planets, stars or galaxies. They’re dispersed much more broadly, lurking in the vast spaces between galaxies.…
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Where Normal Matter Really Lives in the Universe: The Cosmic Baryon Census
Beyond the Bright Objects: The Hidden Home of Normal Matter When we gaze at the night sky, we see stars, planets, and distant galaxies. But normal matter—the stuff that makes up stars, planets, people, and everything we know—accounts for only a small fraction of the universe’s total mass-energy. The bulk of ordinary matter is not…
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Cosmic Filaments: One of the Universe’s Largest Spins
Unveiling a Giant Spin in the Cosmic Web In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have identified one of the Universe’s largest spinning structures: a colossal cosmic filament that appears to rotate as it threads through the cosmic web. Cosmic filaments are the vast, threadlike networks of galaxies and dark matter that form the scaffolding of the…
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Spinning Cosmic Filament: One of the Universe’s Largest Structures Unveiled
Introduction: A monumental reveal in the cosmic web In a discovery that reshapes our understanding of the universe’s scaffolding, astronomers have identified a colossal spinning cosmic filament—a structure so vast that it ranks among the largest known in the cosmos. These filaments form the backbone of the cosmic web, threading galaxies and dark matter across…
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Astronomers Unveil One of the Universe’s Largest Spinning Cosmic Filaments
A Grand Discovery in the Cosmic Web In a landmark study, astronomers have identified and characterized one of the universe’s largest spinning structures: a colossal cosmic filament that appears to rotate as a coherent, vast thread of galaxies and dark matter. Cosmic filaments form the backbone of the cosmic web, stretching across hundreds of millions…
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What 1.2 Million Galaxies Taught Us in One Year with Euclid
Introduction: A Remarkable First Year The European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope has completed its first year of operations, surveying about 1.2 million galaxies across vast stretches of the universe. The results are already reshaping our understanding of how galaxies acquire their varied shapes and how those shapes relate to the large‑scale structure of the…
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Gas Bridge Unveiled Between Dwarf Galaxies: 1.6M ly Tail
Discovery of a Rare Cosmic Gas Bridge In the Virgo Cluster, a team of international astronomers has identified an extraordinary structure: a straight corridor of neutral hydrogen that links two dwarf galaxies. The connection spans about 156,000 light-years, forming a bridge that extends into a sprawling tail of gas reaching 1.6 million light-years. Such a…