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
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
Latest about dark matter
AI is on the hunt for dark matter
By Keith Cooper published
The secrets of dark matter might be hiding in the immense cosmic crashes that are colliding galaxy clusters.
Dark Energy Camera's new galactic portrait delves into dark-matter central
By Keith Cooper published
Located at the confluence of several dark matter filaments in the cosmic web, the Coma Cluster of galaxies is the perfect case study for understanding how these galactic conurbations grow.
How a quantum sensor on the ISS could revolutionize space exploration
By Victoria Corless published
Scientists are working on building a quantum sensor that could help us decode dark matter, probe solar system moons and more.
What is dark matter?
By Nola Taylor Tillman last updated
Reference Roughly 80% of the mass of the universe is made up of dark matter, a material that scientists cannot directly observe. So why do scientists think it dominates?
Could galaxy cluster collisions be used as dark matter detectors?
By Robert Lea published
Particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider have failed to turn up potential dark matter candidates, but could galaxy cluster smashes be used as cosmic dark matter colliders?
Dark matter ghosts its way through powerful (and messy) collision of galaxy clusters
By Robert Lea published
Using data from the Hubble and Chandra space telescopes, scientists have determined that dark matter ghosted through the wreckage of two colliding galaxy clusters over 5 billion light-years away.
Dark matter could play 'matchmaker' for supermassive black holes
By Robert Lea published
Dark matter could act as a cosmic matchmaker between dark matter and merging supermassive black holes, solving astronomy's "final parsec problem."
X-rays reveal secret gas in huge and distant galaxy cluster
By Keith Cooper published
The Euclid and XMM-Newton missions have combined to show the hidden, hot gas that fills an immense galaxy cluster 2.7 billion light-years away.
Get the Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!