7,000 Galaxy Clusters, Hiding in Plain Sight

South Pole Telescope seen at night (Credit : U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel

A five year survey by the South Pole Telescope has produced a catalogue of more than seven thousand galaxy clusters, some dating back nearly eight billion years, giving astronomers their most detailed map yet of the universe's largest structures. Hidden inside the data is something even the researchers did not expect, a discovery that is quietly reshaping how we think star formation unfolded across the history of the universe.

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