not so smooth

I read Dr. Jay L. Wile's article on his Proslogion web site. The article from early 2013 is entitled "Astronomers are Finally Starting to Question an Absurd Assumption." He talked about how many scientists blindly accept as fact that the cosmological principle demands that the Universe, at a very large scale, is the same no matter where you are at. When this is not the case at all. It is not supported by observations.

He refers to a report by Clowes and colleagues on an extremely large collection of quasars. 73, it seems. It is unlike other collections which host 5 to 40 members. The dimensions of it are amazing: 4 billion light years across. The cosmological principle predicts objects topping out at at quarter of that size.

Some of the largest structures we know of, in a particular area of space, each with massive components. This, along with once-ionised magnesium gas absorbers, are posing a challenge to the cosmological principle. The Universe may not be homogeneous. It could be lumpy.