Image of the Day: The Virgo Cluster --"Proof of the Cosmic Thread Connecting Us to the Vast Expanse of the Universe"

 

          

 

The image above shows unusually large halos for the brightest galaxies as well as unusual faint streams of stars connecting galaxies of the Virgo Cluster that previously appeared unrelated. The cluster is a mixture of some 1300 spiral and elliptical galaxies, with the spirals of the cluster distributed in an oblong filament, approximately 4 times as long as wide, stretching along the line of sight from the Milky Way, while the elliptical galaxies are more centrally concentrated.

Astronomers at The Australian National University discovered proof of a vast filament of material that connects our Milky Way galaxy to nearby clusters of galaxies, which are similarly interconnected to the rest of the Universe.

“By examining the positions of ancient groupings of stars, called globular clusters, we found that the clusters form a narrow plane around the Milky Way rather than being scattered across the sky,” said Dr. Stephan Keller of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at ANU.

“Furthermore, the Milky Way’s entourage of small satellites are seen to inhabit the same plane. What we have discovered is evidence for the cosmic thread that connects us to the vast expanse of the Universe. The filament of star clusters and small galaxies around the Milky Way is like the umbilical cord that fed our Galaxy during its youth,” Keller observed.

There are two types of matter that made up the Universe – the dominant, enigmatic dark matter and ordinary matter in the form of galaxies, stars and planets. “A consequence of the Big Bang and the dominance of dark matter is that ordinary matter is driven, like foam on the crest of a wave, into vast interconnected sheets and filaments stretched over enormous cosmic voids – much like the structure of a kitchen sponge."

“Unlike a sponge, however," Keller added, "gravity draws the material over these interconnecting filaments towards the largest lumps of matter, and our findings show that the globular clusters and satellite galaxies of the Milky Way trace this cosmic filament. Globular clusters are systems of hundreds of thousands of ancient stars tightly packed in a ball. In our picture, most of these star clusters are the central cores of small galaxies that have been drawn along the filament by gravity.

“Once these small galaxies got too close the Milky Way the majority of stars were stripped away and added to our galaxy, leaving only their cores.

“It is thought that the Milky Way has grown to its current size by the consumption of hundreds of such smaller galaxies over cosmic time,” he concluded.

The Daily Galaxy via Australian National University

Comments

[Holo]

Filaments are magnetically confined plasma where stars form. There is no need to continue to invent and search for phony dark matter attachments to filaments. The universe is electromagnetic at all scales. The electric field is gravity, and is used in all equations to invent gravity. The correct interpretation of facts needs to become standardized. Stop the phony outdated big-bang nonsense at once.

[California Z]

Would it be easier for a spaceship to travel along the filaments, or in the void? Perhaps the void, since there wouldn't be all that "sticky" gravitational influence around. It would be the smooth dry lake omnidirectional thoroughfare compared to the bumpy asphalt road.

[Xavier]

Holo: Bravo.

[tamurphy]

An interesting article with excellent photo.

Resolving the structure of the universe is among the most daunting of scientific and technological challenges. Less than 100 years ago our Milky Way galaxy was thought to be the entire universe. We know now that galaxies in the universe outnumber the stars in our home galaxy.

Clusters and superclusters of galaxies have been known for some time. Galaxies are strung like beads in filaments within the highly energetic fabric of matter.

The whole thing looks like a super-organism to me. Can you feature the entire Earthly enterprise as a minuscule compartment in the compound eye of universal perception?

Note that the large galaxy in the upper right quadrant is much closer, and hence appears quite large. You may notice some gravitational lensing around it, in which light streaming outward from the very large region of space it obscures is gravitationally bent in our direction.

I was thinking it might be neat to replace such foreground objects with reconstructions of the scene behind, enhancing perception with this anomalous concentration of photons. That would indeed be interesting. But then the foreground galaxy, like our own, is integral to the larger tapestry, and illuminates our connection to the whole.

[Singaporistu]

Holo: Although I'm an skeptic towards the existing alien earth encounters, I'm with you on this one, perhaps this could be only prove of Type IV civilization. I doubt the laws of physics can build such filaments, it looks ordered by intelligence.

A type iv civilization, once expanded over many galaxies they should be able to control space and gravity, and they will need to keep their galaxies close to each other and fight the space inflation, and the easy way is the order them in a balanced system in which the gravity acts stronger than space expansion but not to strong in order to collapse into each-other.

[Singaporistu]

sorry, my comment was for California Z not Holo

[smartypants]

I wonder if the filaments are part of or connected to the jets that shoot out of the top and bottom of a galactic center black hole?

[Matt Rhodes]

Intergalactic highways.

[Roman]

"...with the spirals of the cluster distributed in an oblong filament, approximately 4 times as long as wide, stretching along the line of sight from the Milky Way"
This is called the Fingers of God phenomenon. The most laughable and ridiculous result of applying redshift as a measure of distance. I just cannot imagine how this goes unnoticed in astrophysical circles... Really? Are you like asleep in there, people?

[California Z]

(To Roman:) Good point. And there are people asleep everywhere. I'm just reading Michael Lewis' "The Big Short"? It's about how practically all the "smart" Wall Street guys thought housing prices would inflate forever.
I'm convinced - authorized experts are not better than expert amateurs.