Galaxy filament

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In physical cosmology, filaments are the largest known structures in the universe, thread-like structures with a typical length of 70 to 150 megaparsec that form the boundaries between large voids in the universe. Filaments consist of galaxies; parts where a large number of galaxies are very close to each other are called superclusters.

In 2006, scientists announced the discovery of three filaments aligned to form the largest structure known to humankind, composed of densely-packed galaxies and enormous blobs of gas known as Lyman alpha blobs.

[edit] External links

• Pictures of the filamentary network
• CNN article on 2006 discovery