Astronomers have spent nearly a century searching for dark matter, the invisible scaffolding thought to hold galaxies together. While there’s abundant indirect evidence to suggest this mysterious substance exists, no one has been able to detect it directly. Now, a new study might finally signal a breakthrough. Using data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, […]
Even Dark Matter Can’t Catch a Break From Gravity, Study Suggests
There’s still a lot we don’t know about dark matter, or the “missing” mass supposedly constituting around 85% of the universe. Physicists have good reason to believe it’s out there. New research confirms at least one long-standing hunch about dark matter—that it’s influenced by gravity and can be detected through its gravitational effects. A Nature […]
A Physicist Wants to Turn Jupiter’s Largest Moon Into a Gigantic Dark Matter Detector
When searching for the unknown, classic physics wisdom holds that a bigger detector boosts the chances of discovery. A physicist is taking that advice to heart, advancing a bold plan to use none other than Ganymede—Jupiter’s largest moon—as a dark matter detector on an astronomical scale. Dark matter refers to the “invisible” mass that supposedly […]
Dozens of ‘Ghost Galaxies’ Are Orbiting the Milky Way, Astronomers Suspect
The Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) theory suggests that most galaxies are low-mass dwarf galaxies, many of which orbit larger galaxies like the Milky Way. More broadly, the LCDM represents our best understanding of how the universe works. But there’s a problem. According to the theory, the Milky Way should have significantly more satellite galaxies […]
Wicked High-Definition Image of the Cosmic Web Shows the Universe’s Dark Matter Scaffolding
Researchers compiled hundreds of astronomical observations into a high-definition image of a cosmic filament, part of the megastructure that undergirds the universe’s matter. The filament connects two galaxies that date back to when the universe was a youthful 2 billion years old (it is now about 13.77 billion years old). It showcases the way a […]