Dark matter, the elusive search: Latest discoveries and news

Hubble Reveals Ghostly Ring of Dark Matter
A ghostly ring of dark matter floating in the galaxy cluster ZwCl0024+1652, one of the strongest pieces of evidence to date for the existence of dark matter. Astronomers think the dark-matter ring was produced from a collision between two gigantic clusters. (Image credit: ESA/Hubble)

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

A NASA graphic depicting a galaxy with a red half-circle superimposed over it to represent the mass of dark matter believed to be found there.

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By Paul Sutter published

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The Universe
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Astronauts repair black hole observatory, inspect cosmic ray detector on ISS spacewalk

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

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International Space Station
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Dark matter may have caused a baffling break in this star stream

By Robert Lea published

A strange break in a stream of stars in the Milky Way could be the result of dark matter, but only if the dark matter is hot and self-interacting.

The Universe

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Dark energy, supermassive black holes, JuMBOs … Oh my!

The Universe
An illustration shows the universe expanding during cosmic dawn with its flip side the dark universe dominated by dark photons and dark matter also evolves.

'Dark photons' at Big Bang's cosmic dawn could shine a light on dark matter

By Robert Lea published

Interactions between dark matter and dark photons during a "missing chapter" cosmic history could shed light on one of the most troubling cosmic mysteries.

The Universe
an endless darkness filled with curved dots and specks of light shining into foreverness.

James Webb Space Telescope spots record-breaking collection of stars in far-flung galaxy

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

The James Webb Space Telescope captured images of 44 individual stars in a gorgeous portrait of a distant galaxy.

James Webb Space Telescope
An illustration of dark energy expanding a cosmic structure that resembles the symbol for infinity

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The Universe
An illustration of the colliding galaxies of MACS J0018.5 with the dark matter (blue) racing past normal matter (orange).

How 2024 brought us deeper into the world of particle physics

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Dark matter, antimatter, W bosons and neutron lifetimes all feature in our top 10 stories.

The Universe
An artist's comparison of white dwarfs of the same mass but different temperatures. The hotter white dwarf on the left has puffed up outer layers, whereas the cooler one on the right is more compact.

Puffy white dwarfs could shed light on mysterious dark matter. Here's how.

By Keith Cooper published

Astronomers just took a big step toward a better understanding of white dwarfs, a discovery that could shed light on mysterious dark matter.

Stars
An illustration shows a potential second Big Bang, a "dark Big Bang."

Could dark matter have been forged in a second 'Dark Big Bang?'

By Robert Lea published

The Big Bang may not have been the origin of the universe's most mysterious matter. Instead, dark matter could have been created in a second creation event, a "Dark Big Bang."

The Universe
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