For the first time ever, astronomers have observed the birth of a galaxy cluster, known as a protocluster. The event, billions of light-years away, could form one of the largest-known structures in today’s universe. Using the most powerful telescopes on Earth, the scientists have observed a group of 14 galaxies in the early stages of crashing into one another. The galaxies are forming stars at a rate 1,000 times faster than our own Milky Way galaxy. Yet all 14 galaxies fit into an area just about four times the size of our galaxy. The gathering of galaxies is 12.4 billion light-years away from Earth. Because of the length of time it takes for light to travel, the scientists are actually looking back in history.