INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A galactic protocluster in the universe is observed by the astronomers (Representational)WASHINGTON:
Astronomers have detected the early stages of a colossal cosmic collision, observing a pile-up of 14 galaxies 90 percent of the way across
the observable universe in a discovery that upends assumptions about the early history of the cosmos.Researchers said on Wednesday the
galactic mega-merger observed 12.4 billion light-years away from Earth occurred 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang that gave rise to the
Astronomers call the object a galactic protocluster, a precursor to the type of enormous galaxy clusters that are the largest-known objects
in today's universe.It marked the first time scientists observed the birth of a galaxy cluster, with at least 14 galaxies crammed into an
area only about four times the size of our average-sized Milky Way galaxy.A protocluster as massive as the one observed here, designated as
SPT2349-56, should not have existed at that time, according to current notions of the early universe
Scientists had figured this could not happen until several billion of years later."We were staggered by the implications," said
astrophysicist Scott Chapman of Dalhousie University in Canada
"Yes, conventional wisdom was that clusters take a lot longer to build up and assemble
SPT2349 shows us it happened much more rapidly and explosively than simulations or theory suggested.Galaxy clusters can have thousands of
galaxies bound together by gravity that can boast total masses a quadrillion larger than our sun, with immense amounts of the enigmatic
material called dark matter, gigantic black holes and super-heated gas.SPT2349's mass is about 10 trillion times larger than our sun.The
galaxies within SPT2349 were producing stars at a remarkable clip, up to a thousand times the Milky Way's star-formation rate.In observing
objects so distant, astronomers are peering back in history because of the length of time light takes to travel
SPT2349-56 appeared when the universe was about a tenth its current age."This result is exciting as it allows us to directly study the
formation of a massive galaxy cluster in the early universe," Yale University astronomer Tim Miller added.The researchers, who studied
SPT2349 using land-based telescopes in Chile, said it most likely has snowballed in size since 12.4 billion years ago and could be among the
largest structures in the cosmos today.The research was published in the journal Nature.© Thomson Reuters 2018(This story has not been
edited by staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
