![]() ![]() ![]() In the past, we have only ever observed these radio shockwaves directly from collisions between galaxy clusters. In new research published in Science Advances, we have for the first time observed these shockwaves around pairs of galaxy clusters and the filaments that connect them. Our theories predict that, as gravity draws a filament together, it will cause shockwaves that make the magnetic field stronger and create a glow that can be seen with a radio telescope. We think the cosmic web is also permeated by magnetic fields, which are created by energetic particles in motion and in turn guide the movement of those particles. We call this the “ cosmic web," and we can see it by mapping the locations and densities of galaxies from large surveys made with optical telescopes. These clusters and filaments contain dark matter, as well as regular matter like gas and galaxies. That's why they are working to improve the MUSE instrument so that it provides a two to four times larger field of view.On the largest scales, the universe is ordered into a web-like pattern: galaxies are pulled together into clusters, which are connected by filaments and separated by voids. In the future, the astronomers would like to map larger pieces of the cosmic web. Such tiny galaxies were likely responsible for the end of the cosmic ' dark ages," when less than a billion years after the Big Bang, the universe was illuminated and heated by the first generations of stars."Ĭo-author Michael Maseda (Leiden Observatory, Leiden University) adds, "The MUSE observations thus not only give us a picture of the cosmic web, but also provide new evidence for the existence of the extremely small galaxies that play such a crucial role in models of the early universe." Co-author Joop Schaye (Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, the Netherlands): "We think that the light we are seeing comes mainly from young galaxies, each containing millions of times fewer stars than our own Milky Way. The results strengthen the hypothesis that the young universe consisted of vast numbers of, small groups of freshly formed stars. The observations showed that potentially more than half of the scattered light comes not from large bright radiating sources, but from a sea of previously undiscovered galaxies of very low luminosity that are far too dim to be observed individually. ![]() This is light from about 2 billion years after the Big Bang. Using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), the researchers were able to capture the light from groups of stars and galaxies that was scattered by gas filaments from the cosmic web. A team led by Roland Bacon (CNRS, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, France) focused the Very Large Telescope on a part of the iconic Hubble Ultra Deep Field for 140 hours ( over six nights between August 2018 and January 2019). As a result, they provide a limited view.įor the first time, researchers have managed to see a small piece of the cosmic web without using quasars. Moreover, they are only located at nodes of the cosmic web. The light is then scattered by the cosmic web, making the web around the quasars visible. These are supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies whose surroundings emit enormous amounts of light. Until now, only nodes in the cosmic web had been mapped using quasars. The web itself is difficult to see because it generates almost no light. Astronomers have long assumed that the billions of galaxies in our universe are connected by a huge cosmic web of gas flows. ![]()
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