Cosmic Scale
Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall
Largest known structure · About 10 billion light-years
How big is Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall?
Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall is about 10 billion light-years across.
See Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall in 3D, at true scale
The Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall is the largest structure known in the universe: a region about 10 billion light-years long where gamma-ray bursts are unusually common, suggesting a huge concentration of galaxies. Whether it is truly one structure is still debated.
At a glance
| Diameter | 10 billion light-years |
|---|---|
| Diameter compared with Earth | 7.4 × 10¹⁸ × Earth |
| Distance | About 10 billion light-years |
| Length | About 10 billion light-years |
| Found | 2013 |
| Traced by | Gamma-ray bursts |
Good to know
- It is more than a tenth of the width of the observable universe.
- It seems too large to have formed in the time the universe has existed, which is why it is debated.
- We see it as it was when the universe was about 3 to 4 billion years old.
- Next smaller: Sloan Great Wall · 1.4 billion light-years
- Next larger: Observable Universe · 93 billion light-years