Structure in the Universe

The universe contains organized structures on all different scales, from small systems like the earth and our solar system, to galaxies that contain trillions of stars, and finally extremely large structures that contain billions of galaxies.  How and why these organized structures formed and how they influence one another is a major focus of modern astrophysics. 

The COSMOS survey is designed to measure properties of individual galaxies and the largest structure in the universe at the same time.  This allows astronomers to understand how the largest systems influence the smallest one and how this interplay changes with time.