Dark matter, the elusive search: Latest discoveries and news
Roughly 80 percent of the mass of the universe appears to be dark matter: an invisible material that seems to interact with ordinary matter only through gravity, without emitting light or energy. Scientists cannot detect dark matter directly and don't yet know what it's made of, but they track its influence based on the motions of stars and galaxies. The presence of dark matter is necessary to explain the universe's current structure.
Related Topics: The Big Bang Theory, Black Holes, The Theory of Relativity in Space, Gravitational Waves
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Latest about dark matter
Mysterious dark matter may leave clues in 'strings of pearls' trailing our galaxy
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
Starting in late 2025, the Vera C. Rubin observatory will image the outskirts of our galaxy in search of dark matter clues.
Exotic 'Einstein ring' suggests that mysterious dark matter interacts with itself
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
The unexplained mass of a remarkably massive galaxy suggests that dark matter interacts with itself, according to new observations by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Tiny black holes left over from the Big Bang may be prime dark matter suspects
By Robert Lea published
Don't rule out primordial black holes as dark matter suspects just yet! Particle-sized black holes may resist evaporation, surviving long enough to account for the universe's most mysterious stuff.
Ambitious new dark matter-hunting experiment delivers 1st results
By Robert Lea published
The new BREAD experiment, which was designed to search the cosmos for mysterious dark matter, has returned its first results.
Largest 3D map of our universe could hint that dark energy evolves with time
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
Our leading model of the universe assumes dark energy to be constant across the universe and throughout time. Emerging evidence suggests that may not be the case.
The world's largest digital camera is ready to investigate the dark universe
By Robert Lea published
The 3,200-megapixel LSST camera, build for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, is completed. It will create "the greatest movie of all time" to crack the mystery of dark energy.
The faintest star system orbiting our Milky Way may be dominated by dark matter
By Keith Cooper published
The stars of a possible ultra-faint dwarf galaxy, known as UMa3/U1, could be held in place by the gravitational glue of dark matter.
Euclid 'dark universe' telescope's vision restored by deicing campaign
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
The Euclid "dark universe" probe's vision has been restored, after an experimental campaign succeeded in evaporating water ice from the telescope's mirrors.
Colliding neutron stars hint at new physics that could explain dark matter
By Robert Lea published
Extreme collisions between neutron stars could create exotic particles beyond the standard model, including axions, the hypothetical particle that comprises dark matter.
'Axion stars' that went boom after the Big Bang could shed light on dark matter
By Robert Lea published
Hypothetical particles called axions may have gathered to form "axion stars" that exploded in the early universe to create readable signals that could reveal the secrets of dark matter.
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