A rendering of data from the study. The blue shading shows the estimated protocluster extent and the smaller boxes show images of the galaxies they observed in the protocluster. (Credit: NAOJ/Harikane et. al.)

Galaxies and dark matter stretch throughout our universe as a vast cosmic web. They cluster together in some areas and leave empty voids in others.

But how early in the universe’s history the clusters began to form is still unknown. Now, researchers have found the most distant and