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The faintly glowing wisps of gas that make up the intergalactic filaments of a universe-spanning cosmic web may have finally been detected for the first time, a new study reports.

This gas is apparently helping fuel the growth of young galaxies, shedding light on how the universe has evolved over time, researchers said.

Previous research suggests that, after the universe was born in the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, much of the hydrogen gas that makes up most of the known matter of the cosmos collapsed to form colossal sheets. These sheets then broke apart to form the filaments of a vast cosmic web.