The Hyperion proto-supercluster is the largest and earliest known proto-supercluster, 5,000 times the mass of the Milky Way and seen at 20% of the current age of the universe. It was discovered in 2018 by analysing the redshifts of 10,000 objects observed with the Very Large Telescope in Chile.
The structure is estimated to weigh 4.8 × 1015solar masses (about 5,000 times the mass of the Milky Way[6]) and to extend 60 Mpc × 60 Mpc × 150 Mpc (196 Mly × 196 Mly × 489 Mly).[7][8] It lies within the two square degreeCosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field of the constellationSextans.[4] Hyperion's redshift is z=2.45[7] putting it 11 billion light years from Earth; it existed at less than 20% of the present age of the Universe.[9] Eventually it is "expected to evolve into something similar to the immense structures in the local universe such as the superclusters making up the Sloan Great Wall or the Virgo Supercluster".[10]
Use in cosmology
The supercluster contains dark matter, evidenced by a mismatch between the visible objects in it and their computed gravitational binding. As a relic from the early Universe, the dark matter data could be used to test cosmological theories.[8] As the 2018 paper authors note, "the identification of massive/complex proto-clusters at high redshift could be useful to give constraints on dark matter simulations" of the Lambda-CDM model.[11]
See also
Lynx Supercluster, former record-holder supercluster for red shift z=1.26–1.27 (distance or time of formation)
Cucciati, O.; Lemaux, B. C.; Zamorani, G.; Le Fèvre, O.; Tasca, L. A. M.; Hathi, N. P.; Lee, K.-G.; Bardelli, S.; Cassata, P.; Garilli, B.; Le Brun, V.; MacCagni, D.; Pentericci, L.; Thomas, R.; Vanzella, E.; Zucca, E.; Lubin, L. M.; Amorin, R.; Cassarà, L. P.; Cimatti, A.; Talia, M.; Vergani, D.; Koekemoer, A.; Pforr, J.; Salvato, M. (2018). "The progeny of a cosmic titan: A massive multi-component proto-supercluster in formation at z = 2.45 in VUDS". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 619: A49. arXiv:1806.06073. Bibcode:2018A&A...619A..49C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833655. S2CID119472428.