X-ray surveys help unveil Quipu, the universe's largest known structure

Astronomers have identified what appears to be the largest confirmed filament in the universe, a structure named “Quipu,” using a combination of X-ray surveys and redshift analysis. It measures about 1.3 billion light-years across and holds the mass of roughly 200 quadrillion suns. Quipu’s filamentary path emerged through X-ray detections of hot intracluster gas—markers of galaxy clusters—and precise redshift measurements that map each cluster’s distance.

The discovery of Quipu, highlighted in a preprint, underscores how powerful wide-field X-ray surveys and data-driven algorithms are for unveiling the cosmic web’s grandest scales, providing a test for current cosmological models.