Astronomers discover one of the largest spinning structures in the universe

• A vast rotating cosmic filament has been discovered.
• It spans millions of light-years and contains hundreds of galaxies.
• The entire structure spins like a giant rolling pin.
• Galaxies within it inherit their spin from this larger motion.
• This discovery challenges the view of the universe as isolated and static.

The universe has long been described as a vast, mostly empty space dotted with isolated islands of matter we call galaxies. But a groundbreaking new discovery is shattering that lonely view, revealing a cosmos that is dynamically connected on a scale that is almost beyond comprehension. Astronomers have now spotted one of the largest spinning structures ever identified: a rotating cosmic thread containing 14 hydrogen-rich galaxies, stretched across 5.5 million light-years and only 117,000 light-years wide.

This “razor-thin” structure, located 140 million light-years away, sits embedded within an even larger cosmic filament that spans 50 million light-years and contains more than 280 galaxies total. Researchers using powerful telescopes like South Africa’s MeerKAT array found that the 14-galaxy structure is not static. It is spinning at velocities exceeding 246,000 miles per hour. “The filament is long and thin,” said co-author Professor Matt Jarvis of the University of Oxford, describing the larger structure. “The narrowness of this filament means that a rolling pin of the same dimensions would only be a few millimetres thick.”

A universe in motion

The finding challenges conventional models of cosmic evolution. More than just a highway of matter, this filament exhibits a coherent rotational motion. The galaxies on either side of its spine move in opposite directions, indicating the entire structure is turning. Crucially, many of the individual galaxies are also spinning in alignment with the filament itself. “What makes this structure exceptional is not just its size, but the combination of spin alignment and rotational motion,” said co-lead author Dr. Lyla Jung of the University of Oxford.

Jung offers a relatable analogy for this dual motion: “You can liken it to the teacups ride at a theme park. Each galaxy is like a spinning teacup, but the whole platform – the cosmic filament – is rotating too.” This suggests the immense structures of the cosmic web (the network of filaments connecting galaxy clusters) play a far more direct role in imparting spin to galaxies than previously believed. A galaxy’s rotation may not be a random trait but an inheritance from the larger, rotating architecture of the universe.

A fossil record of creation

This particular filament serves as a pristine cosmic laboratory. It is rich in hydrogen, the fuel for star formation, and is in a “dynamically cold” state with low internal turbulence. This indicates it is a relatively young and undisturbed structure, a snapshot of conditions in the earlier universe. “This filament is a fossil record of cosmic flows,” explained co-lead author Dr. Madalina Tudorache from the University of Cambridge. “It helps us piece together how galaxies acquire their spin and grow over time.”

The discovery provides a tangible clue to a long-standing mystery: how did galaxies like our own Milky Way get their spin? The answer appears to be written in the dynamics of these vast, rotating filaments. Angular momentum is not generated in isolation but is funneled through the cosmic web, with these giant structures setting galaxies into motion as they feed them gas and matter. “Understanding how structures form and evolve in the Universe allows us to piece together how galaxies like the Milky Way formed,” Professor Jarvis noted.

This revelation moves us from a picture of isolated islands in space to one of an intricately connected, dynamic cosmos. The galaxies we see are not solitary accidents but products of a grand, spinning architecture—a universe woven together by forces that impart motion and order across millions of light-years. It forces a profound reconsideration of our place in the cosmos, not as passive observers of static stars, but as inhabitants of a galaxy whose very rotation was seeded by the turning of the universe’s largest structures.

Sources for this article include:

DailyMail.co.uk

LiveScience.com

Cam.AC.uk