Cosmic Void

At first glance, it looks like this could be a microscopic image of tree bark or seashell; or it might be a cluster of blood cells in the body. But this evocative image depicts the grandest scales of all — streams of matter delineating the network of cosmic voids, each tens of millions of light years across.

Matter accumulates where the voids meet, forming a cosmic web
of walls, filaments, and clusters of galaxies. This illustration was awarded first place in the informational graphics category in the 2011 Science/NSF International Science & Engineering
Visualization Challenge.