An international team of scientists have discovered an enormous structure which is home to at least 20 massive galaxies. The structure, dubbed ‘Cosmic Vine’,&nbsp;is said to be about 13 million light-years long and 0.65 million light-years wide. It is so massive that it makes our galaxy, the Milky Way, sound like a negligible speck of dust in the vast cosmos.

To put this number into perspective, if we had the ability to travel at impossible lightspeed, it would roughly 100,000 years to travel across the entire Milky Way but even the fastest man-made object ever, the American space agency NASA’s Parker Solar Probe travels at 0.064 per cent the speed of light.&nbsp;

The group of astronomers led by Shuowen Jin of the Technical University of Denmark have detected a new object the investigation of which is said to be fundamental for our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution.

<h2>What is the ‘Cosmic Vine’?</h2>

The structure, the findings about which were published on the pre-print server arXiv, is said to consist of at least 20 massive galaxies and six galaxy overdensities, which would add up to a total of 260 billion solar masses.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/ginormous-fossilised-bubble-near-milky-way-could-be-relic-of-the-big-bang-638965">Ginormous ‘fossilised’ bubble near Milky Way could be relic of the Big Bang</a>

Cosmic Vine was seen at a redshift of 3.44 in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS) field observed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which means as per the findings, that the universe was only a 2.5 billion-year-old baby when the structure made its appearance. Current methods estimate the universe’s age at 13.7 billion years.

<h2>What makes this discovery significant?</h2>

Cosmic Vine is an extremely long and large structure which is also home to two of the most massive galaxies ever found at such a high redshift – Galaxy A and Galaxy E.&nbsp;

Massive and dense structures of galaxies like the Cosmic Vine are perceived as precursors to galaxy clusters which are the biggest gravitationally bound systems in the universe.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/macallan-1926-rare-whisky-becomes-worlds-most-expensive-bottle-after-being-sold-at-auction-for-record-27mn-660342">Macallan 1926: Rare whisky becomes world’s most expensive bottle after being sold at auction for record $2.7mn</a>

Therefore, the study suggests that since Cosmic Vine is not a virialized system, it is on its way to becoming a galaxy cluster and scientists believe that it might provide insights into the formation of such clusters and the emergence of massive galaxies within them.

The international team of researchers also propose a further investigation of quiescent cluster galaxies at high redshifts which they believe would be significant in helping us understand how the largest structures in the universe form and evolve.

An international team of scientists have discovered an enormous structure which is home to at least 20 massive galaxies. The structure, dubbed ‘Cosmic Vine’, is said to be about 13 million light-years long and 0.

An international team of scientists have discovered an enormous structure which is home to at least 20 massive galaxies. The structure, dubbed ‘Cosmic Vine’, is said to be about 13 million light-years long and 0.65 million light-years wide. It is so massive that it makes our galaxy, the Milky Way, sound like a negligible speck of dust in the vast cosmos. To put this number into perspective, if we had the ability to travel at impossible lightspeed, it would roughly 100,000 years to travel across the entire Milky Way but even the fastest man-made object ever, the American space agency NASA’s Parker Solar Probe travels at 0.064 per cent the speed of light. The group of astronomers led by Shuowen Jin of the Technical University of Denmark have detected a new object the investigation of which is said to be fundamental for our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. What is the ‘Cosmic Vine’? The structure, the findings about which were published on the pre-print server arXiv, is said to consist of at least 20 massive galaxies and six galaxy overdensities, which would add up to a total of 260 billion solar masses. ALSO READ | Ginormous ‘fossilised’ bubble near Milky Way could be relic of the Big Bang Cosmic Vine was seen at a redshift of 3.44 in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS) field observed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which means as per the findings, that the universe was only a 2.5 billion-year-old baby when the structure made its appearance. Current methods estimate the universe’s age at 13.7 billion years. What makes this discovery significant? Cosmic Vine is an extremely long and large structure which is also home to two of the most massive galaxies ever found at such a high redshift – Galaxy A and Galaxy E. Massive and dense structures of galaxies like the Cosmic Vine are perceived as precursors to galaxy clusters which are the biggest gravitationally bound systems in the universe. ALSO READ | Macallan 1926: Rare whisky becomes world’s most expensive bottle after being sold at auction for record $2.7mn Therefore, the study suggests that since Cosmic Vine is not a virialized system, it is on its way to becoming a galaxy cluster and scientists believe that it might provide insights into the formation of such clusters and the emergence of massive galaxies within them. The international team of researchers also propose a further investigation of quiescent cluster galaxies at high redshifts which they believe would be significant in helping us understand how the largest structures in the universe form and evolve.

‘Cosmic Vine’: Scientists discover enormous structure hosting 20 galaxies

The&nbsp;Parker Solar Probe of the&nbsp;National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has captured stunning views of Venus during its close flyby of the planet.

When flying past Venus in July 2020, Parker Solar Probe’s WISPR instrument, (Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe)&nbsp;detected a bright rim around the edge of the planet that may be nightglow,&nbsp;light emitted by oxygen atoms high in the atmosphere that recombine into molecules in the nightside.

The prominent dark feature in the centre of the image is Aphrodite Terra, the largest highland region on the Venusian surface. Bright streaks in WISPR, such as the ones seen here, are typically caused by a combination of charged particles, called cosmic rays, sunlight reflected by grains of space dust, and particles of material expelled from the spacecraft’s structures after impact with those dust grains.

The number of streaks varies along the orbit or when the spacecraft is traveling at different speeds, and scientists are still in discussion about the specific origins of the streaks here. The dark spot appearing on the lower portion of Venus is an artifact from the WISPR instrument.

WISPR is designed to take images of the solar corona and inner heliosphere in visible light, as well as images of the solar wind and its structures as they approach and fly by spacecraft.&nbsp;At Venus, the camera detected a bright rim around the edge of the planet that may be nightglow — light emitted by oxygen atoms high in the atmosphere that recombine into molecules in the nightside. The prominent dark feature in the centre of the image is Aphrodite Terra, the largest highland region on the Venusian surface. The feature appears dark because of its lower temperature, about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) cooler than its surroundings.

That aspect of the image took the team by surprise, said Angelos Vourlidas, the WISPR project scientist from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, who coordinated a WISPR imaging campaign with Japan’s Venus-orbiting Akatsuki mission. “WISPR is tailored and tested for visible-light observations. We expected to see clouds, but the camera peered right through to the surface.”

“WISPR effectively captured the thermal emission of the Venusian surface,” said Brian Wood, an astrophysicist and WISPR team member from the US&nbsp;Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. “It’s very similar to images acquired by the Akatsuki spacecraft at near-infrared wavelengths.”

This surprising observation sent the WISPR team back to the lab to measure the instrument’s sensitivity to infrared light. If WISPR can indeed pick up near-infrared wavelengths of light, the unforeseen capability would provide new opportunities to study dust around the Sun and in the inner solar system. If it can’t pick up extra infrared wavelengths, then these images — showing signatures of features on Venus’ surface — may have revealed a previously unknown “window” through the Venusian atmosphere.

“Either way,” Vourlidas said, “some exciting science opportunities await us.”

For more insight into the July 2020 images, the WISPR team planned a set of similar observations of the Venusian nightside during Parker Solar Probe’s latest Venus flyby on Feb. 20, 2021. Mission team scientists expect to receive and process that data for analysis by the end of April.

“We are really looking forward to these new images,” said Javier Peralta, a planetary scientist from the Akatsuki team, who first suggested a Parker Solar Probe campaign with Akatsuki, which has been in orbiting Venus since 2015. “If WISPR can sense the thermal emission from the surface of Venus and nightglow — most likely from oxygen — at the limb of the planet, it can make valuable contributions to studies of the Venusian surface.”

Parker Solar Probe is part of NASA’s Living with a Star program to explore aspects of the Sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The Living with a Star program is managed by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Johns Hopkins APL designed, built and operates the spacecraft.

The Parker Solar Probe of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has captured stunning views of Venus during its close flyby of the planet. When flying past Venus in July 2020, Parker Solar Probe’s WISPR instrument, (Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe) detected a bright rim around the edge of the planet that may be nightglow, light emitted by oxygen atoms high in the atmosphere that recombine into molecules in the nightside.

The Parker Solar Probe of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has captured stunning views of Venus during its close flyby of the planet. When flying past Venus in July 2020, Parker Solar Probe’s WISPR instrument, (Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe) detected a bright rim around the edge of the planet that may be nightglow, light emitted by oxygen atoms high in the atmosphere that recombine into molecules in the nightside. The prominent dark feature in the centre of the image is Aphrodite Terra, the largest highland region on the Venusian surface. Bright streaks in WISPR, such as the ones seen here, are typically caused by a combination of charged particles, called cosmic rays, sunlight reflected by grains of space dust, and particles of material expelled from the spacecraft’s structures after impact with those dust grains. The number of streaks varies along the orbit or when the spacecraft is traveling at different speeds, and scientists are still in discussion about the specific origins of the streaks here. The dark spot appearing on the lower portion of Venus is an artifact from the WISPR instrument. WISPR is designed to take images of the solar corona and inner heliosphere in visible light, as well as images of the solar wind and its structures as they approach and fly by spacecraft. At Venus, the camera detected a bright rim around the edge of the planet that may be nightglow — light emitted by oxygen atoms high in the atmosphere that recombine into molecules in the nightside. The prominent dark feature in the centre of the image is Aphrodite Terra, the largest highland region on the Venusian surface. The feature appears dark because of its lower temperature, about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) cooler than its surroundings. That aspect of the image took the team by surprise, said Angelos Vourlidas, the WISPR project scientist from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, who coordinated a WISPR imaging campaign with Japan’s Venus-orbiting Akatsuki mission. “WISPR is tailored and tested for visible-light observations. We expected to see clouds, but the camera peered right through to the surface.” “WISPR effectively captured the thermal emission of the Venusian surface,” said Brian Wood, an astrophysicist and WISPR team member from the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. “It’s very similar to images acquired by the Akatsuki spacecraft at near-infrared wavelengths.” This surprising observation sent the WISPR team back to the lab to measure the instrument’s sensitivity to infrared light. If WISPR can indeed pick up near-infrared wavelengths of light, the unforeseen capability would provide new opportunities to study dust around the Sun and in the inner solar system. If it can’t pick up extra infrared wavelengths, then these images — showing signatures of features on Venus’ surface — may have revealed a previously unknown “window” through the Venusian atmosphere. “Either way,” Vourlidas said, “some exciting science opportunities await us.” For more insight into the July 2020 images, the WISPR team planned a set of similar observations of the Venusian nightside during Parker Solar Probe’s latest Venus flyby on Feb. 20, 2021. Mission team scientists expect to receive and process that data for analysis by the end of April. “We are really looking forward to these new images,” said Javier Peralta, a planetary scientist from the Akatsuki team, who first suggested a Parker Solar Probe campaign with Akatsuki, which has been in orbiting Venus since 2015. “If WISPR can sense the thermal emission from the surface of Venus and nightglow — most likely from oxygen — at the limb of the planet, it can make valuable contributions to studies of the Venusian surface.” Parker Solar Probe is part of NASA’s Living with a Star program to explore aspects of the Sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The Living with a Star program is managed by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Johns Hopkins APL designed, built and operates the spacecraft.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe sends stunning image of Venus and its terrain

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‘Cosmic Vine’: Scientists discover enormous structure hosting 20 galaxies

NASA's Parker Solar Probe sends stunning image of Venus and its terrain