# They just found the largest thing ever in the Universe, like, really, really big .... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596 "2012-12-20T02:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/1 "2012-12-20T02:35:57Z")
[From Mauna Kea, they saw](http://www.universetoday.com/399/the-largest-structure-in-the-universe/#ixzz2FYSJ7LOU) this: Astronomers have used the Subaru and Keck telescopes to discover gigantic filaments of galaxies stretching across 200 million light-years in space. These filaments, formed just 2 billion years after the Big Bang, are the largest structures ever discovered in the Universe. The filaments contain at least 30 huge concentrations of gas, each of which contains 10x the mass of the Milky Way. [snip] The newly found giant structure extends over 200 million light years and has a concentration of galaxies up to four times denser than the universe’s average. The only previous known structures with such a high density are much smaller, measuring about 50 million light-years in scale. [snip] Do any our resident particle physicists and cosmologists and others have a particular take on this? I can’t get a sense of the implications. What was the background to this discovery? It can’t be a case of “Holy shit, Carl, you gotta see this, it’s humongous!” Also, I know that the knee-bone-is-connected-to-the-ankle-bone in myriad and mysterious ways in the Universe. What makes this new Guinness record-holder (probably not official yet) a structure? ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/2 "2012-12-20T03:12:12Z")
Well, yes, but, that is just how they looked 13, or so, billion years ago. They likely do not exist in the same form today and we have no way of knowing exactly what they evolved into. Bob ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/3 "2012-12-20T04:03:16Z")
You just made me feel smaller than the smallest particle and very insignificant. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/4 "2012-12-20T08:38:16Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > Well, yes, but, that is just how they looked 13, or so, billion years ago. They likely do not exist in the same form today and we have no way of knowing exactly what they evolved into. > > Bob That’s sort of the silver lining in looking that deep into space, as we can see objects as they were in the early universe, and use that as clues in building better cosmological models. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/5 "2012-12-20T08:41:06Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > You just made me feel smaller than the smallest particle and very insignificant. Yeh, but in all this infinite expanse of space and untold matter, such an insignificant amount of atoms and molecules became self-aware. Then typed the quoted, above. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/6 "2012-12-20T09:01:36Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Yeh, but in all this infinite expanse of space and untold matter, such an insignificant amount of atoms and molecules became self-aware. Then typed the quoted, above. And then disappeared an insignificant amount of time later, desperately trying to convince itself that its self-awareness counted for anything in a universe that was 99.9999999% incapable of caring. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/7 "2012-12-20T13:17:53Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > You just made me feel smaller than the smallest particle and very insignificant. > [@Malacandra](#): > > And then disappeared an insignificant amount of time later, desperately trying to convince itself that its self-awareness counted for anything in a universe that was 99.9999999% incapable of caring. Honey Badger don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Oedipus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/8 "2012-12-20T13:35:11Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > And then disappeared an insignificant amount of time later, desperately trying to convince itself that its self-awareness counted for anything in a universe that was 99.9999999% incapable of caring. But doesn’t that count for something? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/9 "2012-12-20T14:00:09Z")
Nm. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/10 "2012-12-20T14:00:51Z")
Well, not to sound too boastful, but I _do_ have a large filament. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/11 "2012-12-20T14:10:47Z")
I am being ninja’d to death. Who do I call? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/12 "2012-12-20T14:40:23Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > You just made me feel smaller than the smallest particle and very insignificant. It’s a great big universe and we are really puny. We’re just tiny little specks about the size of Mickey Rooney… ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/13 "2012-12-20T14:45:20Z")
It’s bigger than Cartman’s ass! ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/14 "2012-12-20T14:46:06Z")
> [@Oedipus](#): > > But doesn’t that count for something? By what measure? We can put whatever meaning we like on “count”, but it’s for sure the Universe doesn’t care, so all we’re doing is whistling to keep from being afraid of the dark. Re the OP title, the post should be “your momma” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/15 "2012-12-20T15:19:00Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > You just made me feel smaller than the smallest particle and very insignificant. You know, if you were smaller than any other particle, that would be signicant. Me, I’m virtual. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/16 "2012-12-20T15:32:00Z")
Stuff like this makes my head hurt. So, the farthest things that we can see should be closer in time to the Big Bang, right? But, the nearer in time that you get to the Big Bang, the closer everything would have been together, right? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/17 "2012-12-20T15:43:17Z")
I just wanted to remark that your mama, also, contains at least 30 huge concentrations of gas. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/18 "2012-12-20T15:45:15Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I am being ninja’d to death. Who do I call? Ghostbusters, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/19 "2012-12-20T15:45:53Z")
**Wedgehead** close, but no cigar. There’s a whole bunch of threads here on “close” in a space-time expansion of space-time. Don’t have the cites at the moment; just search “expanding sphere” and you can’t miss. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596/20 "2012-12-20T16:24:43Z")
Meanwhile, somewhere in the long stringy filament structure, someone is peering into a telescope and proclaiming, “Wow, look at that teeny tiny blobby galaxy way the hell over there. I wonder if anyone lives there?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-just-found-the-largest-thing-ever-in-the-universe-like-really-really-big/644596.md?page=2)