Cosmic Megastructure 'Big Ring' Challenges Understanding of Universe

Located more than 9 billion light-years from Earth, the structure contradicts the cosmological principle and could lead to a rethinking of our standard model of cosmology.

• Scientists have discovered a massive ring-shaped structure in space, named the Big Ring, with a diameter of about 1.3 billion light-years, challenging our understanding of the universe.
• The Big Ring is located more than 9 billion light-years from Earth and is among the largest structures ever observed, appearing to be roughly the size of 15 of Earth's moons.
• The discovery contradicts the cosmological principle, which suggests that the universe is homogeneous on a large scale and looks the same in all directions.
• The Big Ring was found near the Giant Arc, another large structure discovered in 2021, raising the possibility that they form a more extraordinary cosmological system.
• The findings, presented at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society, could lead to a rethinking of our standard model of cosmology.

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