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For the first time ever, astronomers have observed the birth of a galaxy cluster, known as a protocluster. The event, billions of light-years away, could form one of the largest-known structures in today's universe.
Using the most powerful telescopes on Earth, the scientists have observed a group of 14 galaxies in the early stages of crashing into one another. The galaxies are forming stars at a rate 1,000 times faster than our own Milky Way galaxy. Yet all 14 galaxies fit into an area just about four times the size of our galaxy.
The gathering of galaxies is 12.4 billion light-years away from Earth. Because of the length of time it takes for light to travel, the scientists are actually looking back in history.
The protocluster, named SPT2349-56, appeared when the universe was about a tenth of its current age.
They say it happened 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang. The Big Bang is the explosive force that gave rise to the universe about 13.8 billion years ago.
Chris Hayward is a scientist with the Flatiron Institute in New York. He told the Simons Foundation, "This is the missing link in our understanding of how clusters form."
The astronomers reported this galactic gathering in the journal Nature in late April.
History of the universe
Scott Chapman of Dalhousie University in Canada is one of the authors of the report. Chapman, Hayward, Tim Miller of Yale University and others observed the protocluster using the South Pole Telescope in Antarctica.
Chapman said how the group of galaxies got so big so fast "is a bit of a mystery."
"It just hit you in the face because all of a sudden there are all these galaxies there," Chapman said. "We went from three to 14 in one fell swoop. It instantly became obvious this was a very interesting, massive structure forming and not just a flash in the pan."
The protocluster was formed before the more mature galaxy clusters seen in the modern universe. That makes the protocluster an excellent test bed for learning more about how present-day clusters formed and evolved.
I'm Pete Musto.
Pete Musto adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a Simons Foundation report. Hai Do was the editor.
We want to hear from you. What other discoveries do you think scientists will make that might change their ideas about the history of the universe? Write to us in the Comments Section or on www.hxen.com .
