Hyperion is a colossal proto-supercluster, over 1 million billion times the mass of the Sun.
Key Takeaways:
- Astronomers discovered Hyperion, the earliest known proto-supercluster, just 2 billion years after the Big Bang.
- This massive structure is over 1 million billion times the Sun’s mass, rivaling today’s largest clusters.
- Hyperion’s vast network of galaxies is mapped in 3D using ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.
- Unlike modern superclusters, Hyperion has a loose, evenly distributed structure instead of dense cores.
- Scientists expect Hyperion to evolve into an immense structure, similar to the Sloan Great Wall or Virgo Supercluster.
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Astronomers have discovered one of the largest and most ancient cosmic structures ever observed—Hyperion, a massive galaxy proto-supercluster, formed just 2 billion years after the Big Bang. This finding, led by an international team including Olga Cucciati of Italy’s Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) and Brian Lemaux of UC Davis, challenges current models of early universe evolution.
A Giant Amongst the Stars
Hyperion is a true cosmic behemoth, with an estimated mass exceeding 1 million billion times that of the Sun. It rivals the most massive superclusters found in the present-day universe, a surprising revelation given that such structures typically take billions of years to form. The discovery was made using the VIMOS instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope in Chile.
Located in the constellation Sextans, Hyperion was identified through a 3D mapping technique developed at UC Davis. By analyzing data from the VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey, astronomers could pinpoint its vast network of galaxies. Hyperion contains at least seven dense regions connected by galaxy filaments, spanning an immense cosmic web.
A Glimpse into the Universe’s Evolution
Unlike closer superclusters, which have had billions of years for gravity to compress their matter into dense cores, Hyperion exhibits a more uniform mass distribution. Instead of a single concentrated center, it consists of loosely connected “blobs” of galaxies. Scientists believe it will eventually evolve into a structure similar to the Sloan Great Wall or the Virgo Supercluster, which houses the Milky Way.
The research team is comparing Hyperion to modern superclusters using data from the ORELSE survey and Keck Observatory in Hawaii. These comparisons may refine our understanding of how massive cosmic structures form over time.
“This discovery gives us insight into how the universe evolved and challenges some of our existing models,” Cucciati explained. The research will be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, with contributions from scientists across Europe, the U.S., and Japan.
By studying Hyperion, astronomers hope to unlock secrets about the large-scale structure of the universe and its long-term evolution. This remarkable finding provides a rare glimpse into the universe’s past while hinting at its vast and intricate future.
