A Hungarian-US team of astronomers have found what may be the largest structure in the observable universe, a circular ring of nine gamma ray bursts and hence nine galaxies that stretches five billion light years across.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous events in the observable universe. These events occur when massive stars in a galaxy collapse into black holes. Astronomers have used these GRBs to locate and map the locations of their distant host galaxies. Such bursts are cataloged in the Gamma Ray Burst Online Index, a precise listing of burst distances and locations, creating a cosmic map.
