--- title: "Astronomers Discover Deep-Space “Structure,” 1.4 Billion Light Years Across" description: "Astronomers have created a 3D map of a gigantic cosmic structure called the \"South Pole Wall\" that's 1.4 billion light-years across." date: "2020-07-10" modified: "2020-07-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/astronomers-discover-deep-space-structure-1-4-billion-light-years" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "dark matter" - "hercules–corona borealis great wall" - "superclusters" --- # Astronomers Discover Deep-Space “Structure,” 1.4 Billion Light Years Across ![Astronomers have created a 3D map of a gigantic cosmic structure called the "South Pole Wall" that's 1.4 billion light-years across.]() *\Image: Pomarede et al.\* Astronomers have created a 3D map of a cosmic structure so gigantic that it's almost impossible to even comprehend. The "South Pole Wall" is a flabbergasting 1.4 billion light years across and contains hundreds of thousands of galaxies, [*Live Science* reports](). That puts it on par with the Sloan Great Wall, the sixth largest cosmic structure ever discovered at 1.38 billion light-years across. “The surprise for us is that this structure is as big as the Sloan Great Wall and twice as close, and remained unnoticed, being hidden in an obscured sector of the southern sky,” Daniel Pomarède from Paris-Saclay University and lead author of [a paper]() about the research published in *The Astrophysical Journal* today, [told *The New York Times*]() in an email. “The discovery is a wonderful poster child for the power of visualizations in research," co-lead Brent Tully of the University of Hawaii, told the *Times*. To create their map of the South Pole Wall, the cosmographers had to use new sky surveys to peek past the "Zone of Galactic Obscuration," an area in the southern part of the observable universe that's obscured by the comparatively bright Milky Way. The new research builds on a 2014 discovery by the same team of cosmographers of a supercluster of galaxies — with the Milky Way being one of approximately 100,000 galaxies contained within — called "Laniakea." To put the size of the South Pole Wall into perspective, our own Milky Way galaxy is a mere 52,850 light years across. Counted in miles, the distance of the South Pole Wall end-to-end would end up have 21 zeroes attached to it. Estimates put the number of grains of sand on Earth at just 7.5 quintillion (18 zeros). These gigantic structures are made up of countless clumps called "cosmic webs" floating inside enormous clouds of hydrogen gas. Outside these larger structures, there's not a whole lot of stuff, as far as we know. To make the discovery, the team came up with a new technique to measure the dizzying size of the South Pole Wall, which takes into account the velocity of galaxies as they exert gravitational forces on each other. This new technique was even able to take dark matter into consideration, the mysterious stuff believed to make up approximately 85 percent of the matter in the universe. While dark matter remains a mystery, astronomers suggest it could be the scaffolding that determines the shape of these cosmic structures. As of right now, the largest cosmic structure ever discovered is the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall, which spans 10 billion light-years. Even then, the Wall accounts for only a tenth the size of the observable universe, which spans about 93 billion light years. **READ MORE:** [Astronomers discover South Pole Wall, a gigantic structure stretching 1.4 billion light-years across]() \[*Live Science*\] **More on super structures:** [*Strange Theory: Entire Universe Structured by "Quantum Static"*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()