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Dark matter filament illuminated

Astronomers visualize one connection in a shadowy cosmic network

By Devin Powell

- More than 2 years ago

An invisible web thought to span the cosmos has now revealed one of its strands.

Contour lines outline an invisible dark matter filament connecting the galaxy clusters Abell 222 (bottom) and Abell 223 (top) in the night sky. The cosmic thread revealed itself by distorting light coming from distant galaxies.