Scientists from the University of Central Lancashire have made a pioneering discovery of an immense ring-like structure in space, referred to as the Great Ring. This huge body is made up of several galaxies and galactic clusters.
The diameter of the ring extends to 1.3 billion light-years, defying the well-established cosmological principle that suggests matter should be evenly distributed throughout the universe.
To the observer’s eye, the sheer size of the ring is equivalent to fifteen times the moon’s size when viewed from Earth. Despite its immense size, it cannot be seen with the naked eye due to its vast distance. Identifying all the galaxies that form this intriguing sequence took considerable time and computational power.
The Cosmological Principle, a fundamental principle in the field of astronomy, dictates that matter should be uniformly distributed in the universe. However, the existence of the Great Ring contradicts this principle, placing scientists in a predicament to re-evaluate some concepts. Dr. Robert Massey, Deputy Director of the Royal Astronomical Society, points out that such accumulating evidence is pushing the scientific community to reassess ancient astronomical beliefs.
Alexia Lopez, a doctoral student at the University of Central Lancashire, discovered another massive structure called the Giant Arc, spanning an extensive area measuring 3.3 billion light-years. Explaining both the Great Ring and the Giant Arc, positioned near the constellation of Vulcan, remains challenging within the current understanding of the universe.
Professor Don Pollacco of Warwick University suggests that these structures could be remnants from the early universe. They might be waves of matter with high and low density that have settled far from our galaxy. The proximity of the Great Ring and the Giant Arc also indicates a potential connection, which could represent the formation of an even larger structure.
Other immense structures, such as the Sloan Great Wall and the South Pole Wall, have been discovered by cosmologists, prompting a reassessment towards traditional astronomical concepts and searching for a correct and logical explanation.
