Dark matter, the elusive search: Latest discoveries and news

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Latest about dark matter

The International Space Station hangs in front of the curvature of Earth.

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.

International Space Station
graphic illustration of what dark matter. Large black "veins" run through a grey background with sparks of light appearing through "cracks" in the image.

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?

Reference
photo of deep space showing dozens of galaxies, surrounded by a purple glow

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?

The Universe
Mixing clouds of orange and blue in deep space

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.

The Universe
Two orange swirls that bulge in the middle surrounded by faint purple vines

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."

Black Holes
Coulntless stars and points of light in black space. In the center, a bright blue light shiens, radiating outward a faint blue hue.

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.

Galaxies
An orange sphere surrounded by blue lines.

Rapidly spinning dead stars could unveil dark matter secrets

By Robert Lea published

"Cosmic lighthouses" comprised of rapidly spinning dead stars that blast out radiowaves could be used to shed new light on dark matter, the universe's most mysterious "stuff."

The Universe
Black tendrils are shown on top of a blue scene. In the center, a glowing white section exists.

In a way, Space.com and the dark universe grew up together

By Robert Lea published

The concept of dark energy came about just around the time Space.com booted up.

The Universe
The Draco dwarf is a faint, star-poor but dark-matter rich galaxy. Here we see Hubble zooming in on some of its stars.

Hubble Telescope tracks a dwarf galaxy's stars to map out dark matter

By Keith Cooper published

By measuring the motions of stars in the Draco dwarf galaxy, the Hubble Space Telescope was able to map the density profile of dark matter.

Hubble Space Telescope
On the left side, the universe is seen through the Rubin Observatory's eyes. It's a bunch of glowing, yellowish stars and galaxies against a dark background. On the right is the universe through Roman's eyes, and it's a little more greenish looking. There are fewer speckles overall, technically.

Astronomers could use a synthetic cosmos to unravel dark matter mysteries

By Robert Lea published

A simulated universe created by a supercomputer should help astronomers better analyze dark matter and dark energy clues delivered by "dark universe detective" telescopes Roman and Rubin.

The Universe
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