Astronomers see 'skeleton' of universe

SANTIAGO: Astronomers in Chile and Japan have for the first time seen part of the "cosmic web" of galaxies that permeates the known universe in a gigantic assembly some seven billion light-years from Earth.

Viewed through the world's most powerful telescopes, the discovery "is the first observation of such a prominent galaxy structure in the distant universe, providing further insight into the cosmic web and how it formed," the European Southern Observatory (ESO) said on Tuesday in a statement.

The assembly of galaxies form filaments "millions of light years long and constitute the skeleton of the universe," it said.