The Biggest Objects observed in the Universe

The size of cosmic objects is simply mindboggling and the existence of some of them is a mystery in itself.

Our universe is so huge that we haven’t been able to discover everything that it has to offer. That’s the reason why the crown of the largest thing in the universe is changing frequently as scientists continue their quest to know more. We have some enormous bodies on our planet like the Burj Khalifa of Dubai and the Mount Everest but all these things are microscopic when compared to the humungous cosmic objects. Some of the largest structures of their respective categories are listed below.

·         The Cosmic Web

According to a unanimous opinion of the scientists, this is the biggest thing we have discovered till now. In order to estimate the size of this web, you can imagine Milky Way as a poppy seed. In comparison to that, the size of the cosmic web of the universe would be equal to the Rose Bowl stadium. All the galaxies and their corresponding clusters are surrounded by dark matter. The universal pattern of their arrangement, which resembles a three-dimensional spider web, gives birth to different hubs that are connected with the help of filaments of galaxies.

·         The Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall

This is currently the largest structure in the universe. This is 10 billion light-years wide. According to scientists, it is composed of a dense concentration of galaxy clusters and other forms of matter. It covers a lot of constellations including Hercules. Its connection with Corona Borealis gave it its name. Due to its unimaginable size, it easily exceeds the Cosmological Principle of Einstein. This forces scientists to rethink their ideas of universe formation.

·         IC 1101 Super Galaxy

This super galaxy is the biggest galaxy that humanity has discovered so far. A super galaxy is formed when a lot of galaxies are merged. Usually, they sit in the middle of galaxy clusters. It will take you 6 million light years to travel from one end to another of this massive structure. It is 60 times larger than Milky Way which is just 100,000 light years across. It has a mass of around 100 trillion stars. Given these facts, you can very well imagine the scale of this galaxy.

·         Quasar OJ287

Black holes are physically not very large but in terms of mass, they can be compared with largest things of the universe. Quasar OJ287 is the largest black hole known to humans. It is located in the center of galaxy NGC 1277. According to an estimate, it has 18 billion times the mass of our Sun. This virtually means that this supermassive black hole is much greater than our solar system. The radius of this black hole goes over 300 AU.

·         VY Scuti

It is the largest star, in terms of diameter, that we know of. The VY Scuti has a radius that is a whopping 1708 times our Sun. It is extremely light in comparison to its enormous size as it is only 30 times the Sun’s mass. It is located at a distance of 9,500 light years from Earth. If we compare the Earth with a basketball, UY Scuti will have a height of 125,000 feet.

·         Kappa Andromedae B

For a long time, TRES4 was considered the largest planet in the universe before this massive planet was discovered. It is often referred to as ‘Brown Dwarf’. It orbits around Kappa Andromedae, a star in the Andromeda constellation. It has the mass of 500,000 Earths and is located at a distance of 170 light years from our planet. It was considered a star for quite some time due to its massive size but it attained the status of a planet once the detailed research was performed.

 

·         Ceres

The largest asteroid that has been discovered till date is called Ceres. It has a diameter of around 600 miles and is about one-quarter the size of the moon. It is responsible for one-third the mass of the entire asteroid belt. This spherical asteroid orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Its massive size has earned it the title of ‘Dwarf Planet’. It is the only object in the asteroid belt that has earned this designation.

Also read: New Findings From NASA’s Dawn Mission at Dwarf Planet Ceres