Astronomers spot a 50-million-light-year-long cosmic filament
Astronomers just found a gigantic cosmic filament—basically a huge thread of galaxies—stretching 50 million light-years across space and sitting about 140 million light-years from Earth.
Inside, there is a standout chain of 14 galaxies that all spin in sync.
This discovery is giving scientists new clues about how galaxies come together and evolve.
Galaxies spinning together in the cosmic web
What's wild is that these 14 galaxies aren't just neighbors—they actually rotate in the same direction as the filament itself, while others nearby spin opposite ways.
This unusual pattern is making astronomers rethink what they know about how big structures shape galaxy movement.
How scientists uncovered it
Researchers spotted this massive structure—way too far for backyard telescopes to see.
The find acts like a "fossil record" of cosmic flows, helping scientists fine-tune their models of how energy and motion travel through the universe's web.