Something new has been found in the universe, this time not even NASA can fully explain it. Scientists have found a huge structure with a giant ring shape (that’s why it’s called Big Ring) and its alignment is very different from other structures we know from the universe. That’s why this discovery has shocked astronomers so much, because it doesn’t fit with what they know about how the cosmos organizes. The Big Ring could be a cosmic structure never seen before or maybe an unusual gravity effect scientists can’t understand yet. So, let’s find out more about the Big Ring in the universe.
Breaking the rules of astronomy
There’s something amazing about the Big Ring: its capacity of wrapping the space around it and modifying the way in which nearby galaxies are seen. Until now, astronomers believed the universe was organized as a kind of huge web (called cosmic web) with galaxies distributed in an irregular way and joined by filaments of matter.
However, the Big Ring breaks with this idea because it has a well defined shape, almost perfect, which is something unexpected from such big structures. It looks like a doughnut or a floating ring in space, another aspect that is opposite to what the current theory says.
What’s more, scientists have seen that not only is the structure special because of its shape, but also due to its influence on whatever goes around it – which affects space and other nearby structures. This type of interaction is something astronomers don’t see everyday.
How was the Big Ring discovered?
Astronomers used special telescopes with a wide field of view, capable of observing big zones in the sky and analyzing how galaxies group together. One of the observations was key for the discovery, because they noticed one region of the universe, galaxies seemed to be forming an unusual circular pattern. It wasn’t about any cluster, it was something much bigger and organized.
To make sure this wasn’t a product of their imagination or an error, scientists repeated the observations several times. Then, they used a technique called redshift that allows them to measure the distance and the movement of objects in space, confirming the Big Ring is real, huge, and unique.
A challenge for universe science
In the last decades, astronomers have found some strange structures that didn’t fit with what they thought about the universe’s functioning. However, the Big Ring goes beyond that: its perfect shape, its size, and its composition seem to go against gravity rules and the formation of big cosmic structures.
This is why some experts believe it could be a remain of the primitive universe, formed right after the Big Bang. Others think it could be the evidence proving a parallel universe exists, and it’s interacting with our universe. There’s also the theory that it could be a remain of an ancient stage of the cosmos.
The possible effect of the Big Ring on nearby space
We already mentioned the Big Ring’s influence on its surroundings, but let’s get into more detail. Some scientists believe it could be related to dark energy, a mystery force that makes the universe expand faster and faster. For now, this relationship with dark energy is just a hypothesis, the fact that the Big Ring changes the arrangement of nearby galaxies makes it a phenomenon impossible to ignore.
A mystery that could change what we know about the cosmos
This discovery is an open door to one of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy. Not only is the Big Ring a visual rarity, but also it could make scientists think twice about how the universe works. The most striking thing? Every time we think we know everything about the cosmos, it appears something to remind us there’s still a lot to discover.