The distant ancestors of the modern inhabitants of the planet Earth believed that it was the largest object in the universe, and the small Sun and Moon day after day revolved around it in the sky. The smallest formations in outer space seemed to them stars that were compared to tiny luminous dots attached to a firmament in the sky. Centuries passed, and man's views on the structure of the Universe changed radically. So what will modern scientists now answer the question, what is the largest space object?
Age and structure of the universe
According to the latest data from science, our Universe has existed for about 14 billion years, it is this period that calculates its age. Having begun its existence at the point of cosmic singularity, where the density of matter was incredibly high, it, constantly expanding, has reached its present state. Today it is believed that the Universe is built from ordinary and familiar to us matter, of which all astronomical objects visible and perceived by instruments consist of only 4.9%.
Previously, exploring space and the movement of celestial bodies, ancient astronomers could only rely on their own observations, using only simple measuring instruments. To understand the structure and size of various formations in the Universe, modern scientists have artificial satellites, observatories, lasers and radio telescopes, the most sophisticated sensors in their design. At first glance, it seems that with the help of science, it is not at all difficult to answer the question of which is the largest space object. However, this is not at all as easy as it seems.
Where is a lot of water?
What parameters can be judged: by size, weight or quantity? For example, the largest cloud of water in space was discovered from us at a distance that light travels for 12 billion years. The total amount of this substance in the form of steam in this region of the Universe exceeds all reserves of the Earth's oceans by 140 trillion times. There are 4,000 times more water vapor there than is contained in our entire galaxy called the Milky Way. Scientists believe that this is the oldest cluster, formed long before the times when our Earth as a planet appeared to the world from a solar nebula. This object, rightly related to the giants of the Universe, appeared almost immediately after its birth, after only a billion years or maybe a little more.
Where is the largest mass concentrated?
Water is supposed to be the oldest and most common element not only on planet Earth, but also in the depths of space. So what is the largest space object? Where there is most water and other substances? But it is not so. The mentioned cloud of steam exists only because it is concentrated around a black hole endowed with a huge mass and is held by the force of its attraction. The gravitational field next to such bodies turns out to be so strong that no objects are able to leave their limits, even if they move at light speed. Such "holes" of the Universe are precisely called black because the light quanta are not able to overcome the hypothetical line called the event horizon. Therefore, it is impossible to see them, but a huge mass of these formations constantly makes itself felt. The dimensions of black holes can theoretically be not very large due to their fantastic density. At the same time, an incredible mass is concentrated at a small point in space, hence, according to the laws of physics, gravity also arises.
The closest black holes to us
Our native Milky Way belongs to spiral galaxies by scientists. Even the ancient Romans called it the “milk road”, since from our planet it has the corresponding form of a white nebula, spread out in the sky in the blackness of night. And the Greeks came up with a whole legend about the appearance of this cluster of stars, where it is milk sprinkled from the breasts of the goddess Hera.
Like many other galaxies, the black hole existing in the center of the Milky Way is a supermassive formation. They call her "Sagittarius A-Star." This is a real monster that literally devours everything around itself with its own gravitational field, accumulating huge masses of matter within its limits, the amount of which is constantly arriving. However, the nearby region, precisely because of the existence of the indicated retracting funnel in it, turns out to be a very good place for the appearance of new star formations.
Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda galaxy, which is the closest to the Milky Way, also enters the local group with ours. It also refers to spiral, but several times larger and includes about a trillion stars. For the first time in written sources by ancient astronomers, it was mentioned in the writings of the Persian scientist As-Sufi, who lived more than a millennium ago. This huge formation appeared to the mentioned astronomer as a small cloud. It is because of its view from Earth that the galaxy is also often called the Andromeda Nebula.
Even much later, scientists could not imagine the scale and magnitude of this cluster of stars. They have long endowed this space formation with relatively small sizes. The distance to the Andromeda galaxy was also significantly diminished, although, in fact, the short path to it is, according to modern science, the distance that even light travels over a period of more than two thousand years.
Super galaxy and clusters of galaxies
The largest object in space could be considered a hypothetical supergalaxy. Theories about its existence were put forward, but the physical cosmology of our time considers the formation of such an astronomical cluster improbable because of the impossibility of gravitational and other forces to hold it as a whole. However, there is a supercluster of galaxies, and today such objects are considered quite real.
Cosmic clusters of stars are combined in groups. They can contain many components, the number of which varies from tens to several thousand formations. Such clusters, in turn, are combined into more grandiose space structures, and they are called the “supercluster of galaxies”. The grandiose “star beads”, as it were, rests on imaginary threads, and their intersections form nodes. The size of such formations is comparable to the distance that light travels over hundreds of millions of years.
The largest cluster of galaxies
What is the largest system of its kind? This is a massive cluster of galaxies of El Gordo. An impressive space formation is located at a distance from Earth that light travels over 7 billion years. According to scientists, the objects in it are incredibly hot and emit a record in intensity radiation. But the brightest is the central galaxy, which has a blue glow spectrum. It is assumed that it arose as a result of the collision of two huge space formations consisting of stars and space gas. Scientists came to similar conclusions using data and optical images obtained with the Spitzer telescope.
Black monster of space
An extreme monster of the Universe can be called a fantastically huge black hole, discovered among the stars of the galaxy NGC 4889. It appears to the world in the form of a giant egg-shaped funnel. Figuratively speaking, such a monster was confused in Veronica's Hair. Located in this constellation, as it usually happens, in the center of the galaxy, the “hole” is located at a distance that light travels over more than three hundred million years, reaching our solar system, and at the same time has a size a dozen times larger than it. And its mass is a couple of tens of millions of times greater than the weight of our luminary.
Is there a multiverse
As can be understood from the above, it is difficult to find out: what is the largest cosmic object, because in the depths of heavenly blackness there are enough interesting astronomical formations, each of which is impressive in its own way. Out of competition, of course, our very Universe. Its dimensions, according to modern astronomy, light travels from edge to edge in about 156 billion years. Moreover, it continues to be heard in breadth. But what is beyond?
While science does not give a clear answer to this question. But if you fantasize, then you can imagine other universes that may be similar to ours and completely different from it. Of course, in the future there is a chance to detect even entire clusters of such. However, it will be impossible to understand what such a multiverse will be like, because the mysteries of time, space, energy, matter and space are inexhaustible.
A bright point in the sky but not a star
Continuing the search for the remarkable in space, we now ask a different question: what is the largest star in the sky? And again, we won’t immediately find a suitable answer. There are a lot of noticeable objects that can be distinguished with the naked eye on a beautiful fine night. One is Venus. This point in the sky is perhaps brighter than all the others. In terms of luminosity, it is several times greater than the planets Mars and Jupiter, which are close to us. It is inferior in brightness only to the moon.
However, Venus is not a star at all. But it was very difficult for the ancients to notice such a difference. It is difficult for the naked eye to distinguish between burning stars themselves and luminous reflected rays of the planet. But even in ancient times, for example, Greek astronomers understood the difference between these objects. They called the planets "wandering stars", as they moved over time along loop-like trajectories, unlike most of the nightly beauties of the sky.
It is not surprising that Venus stands out among other objects, because this is the second planet from the Sun, and the closest to the Earth. Now scientists have found that the sky of Venus itself is completely covered with thick clouds and has an aggressive atmosphere. All this perfectly reflects the sun's rays, which explains the brightness of this object.
Star giant
The largest luminary discovered by astronomers to date exceeds the size of the Sun by 2100 times. It emits a raspberry glow and is located in the constellation Canis Major. This object is located at a distance of four thousand light years from us. Specialists call her VY Big Dog.
But a large star is only in size. Studies show that its density is actually negligible, and the mass is only 17 times the weight of our luminary. But the properties of this object cause fierce debate in the scientific community. It is assumed that the star expands, but loses its brightness over time. Many of the experts also express the opinion that the enormous size of the object actually in some way only seems to be such. Optical illusion arises due to a nebula enveloping the true forms of a star.
Mysterious objects of space
What is a quasar in space? Similar astronomical objects turned out to be a big puzzle for scientists of the last century. These are very bright light sources and radio emissions with relatively small angular dimensions. But, despite this, with their glow they eclipse entire galaxies. But what is the reason? It is assumed that these objects contain supermassive black holes surrounded by grandiose gas clouds. Giant funnels absorb matter from space into themselves, due to which they constantly increase their mass. Such retraction leads to a powerful glow and, as a result, to a huge brightness arising as a result of braking and subsequent heating of the gas cloud. It is believed that the mass of such objects exceeds the solar billions of times.
The hypothesis about these amazing objects is expressed by many. Some believe that these are the nuclei of young galaxies. But the most intriguing seems to be the assumption that quasars in the universe no longer exist. The fact is that the glow that earth astronomers can observe today has reached our planet for too long a period. It is believed that the quasar closest to us is located at a distance that light had to overcome in a thousand million years. And this means that on Earth it is possible to see only the "ghosts" of those objects that existed in deep space in incredibly distant times. And then our universe was much younger.
Dark matter
But this is not all of the secrets that vast space holds. Even more mysterious is the "dark" side of it. The usual substance called baryonic matter, as already mentioned, is very small in the Universe. Most of its mass consists, as is currently speculated, of dark energy. And 26.8% is dark matter. Such particles are not subject to physical laws, so it is too difficult to detect them.
This hypothesis has not yet been fully confirmed by rigorous scientific evidence, but arose when trying to explain the extremely strange astronomical phenomena associated with stellar gravity and the evolution of the universe. All this remains to be seen only in the future.