A fuzzy form of dark matter may clump up to become the cores of galaxies, according to new research.
Continue reading “Galaxy Cores May be Giant Fuzzy Dark Stars”Galaxy Cores May be Giant Fuzzy Dark Stars
LIGO Has Detected Unusual Black Holes Merging, But they Probably Don’t Explain Dark Matter
The traditional theory of black hole formation seems to struggle to explain how black holes can merge into larger more massive black holes yet they have been seen with LIGO. It’s possible that they may have formed at the beginning of time and if so, then they may be a worthy candidate to explain dark matter but only if there are enough of them. A team of researchers recently searched for microlensing events from black holes in the Large Magellanic Cloud but didn’t find enough to account for more than a fraction of dark matter.
Continue reading “LIGO Has Detected Unusual Black Holes Merging, But they Probably Don’t Explain Dark Matter”IceCube Just Spent 10 Years Searching for Dark Matter
Neutrinos are tricky little blighters that are hard to observe. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica was built to detect neutrinos from space. It is one of the most sensitive instruments built with the hope it might help uncover evidence for dark matter. Any dark matter trapped inside Earth, would release neutrinos that IceCube could detect. To date, and with 10 years of searching, it seems no excess neutrinos coming from Earth have been found!
Continue reading “IceCube Just Spent 10 Years Searching for Dark Matter”High Velocity Clouds Comprise Less of the Milky Way’s Mass Than We Thought
Sometimes in astronomy, a simple question has a difficult answer. One such question is this: what is the mass of our galaxy?
On Earth, we usually determine the mass of an object by placing it on a scale or balance. The weight of an object in Earth’s gravitational field lets us determine the mass. But we can’t put the Milky Way on a scale. Another difficulty with massing our galaxy is that there are two types of mass. There is the mass of dark matter that makes up most of the Milky Way’s mass, and there is all the regular matter like stars, planets, and us, which is known as baryonic matter.
Continue reading “High Velocity Clouds Comprise Less of the Milky Way’s Mass Than We Thought”Using Jupiter as a Dark Matter Detector
The nature of dark matter has been a hotly debated topic for decades. If it’s a heavy, slow moving particle then it’s just possible that neutrinos may be emitted during interactions with normal matter. A new paper proposes that Jupiter may be the place to watch this happen. It has enough gravity to capture dark matter particles which may be detectable using a water Cherenkov detector. The researchers suggest using a water Cherenkov detector to watch for excess neutrinos coming from the direction of Jupiter with energies between 100 MeV and 5 GeV.
Continue reading “Using Jupiter as a Dark Matter Detector”Einstein Predicted How Gravity Should Work at the Largest Scales. And He Was Right
When Albert Einstein introduced his theory of general relativity in 1915, it changed the way we viewed the Universe. His gravitational model showed how Newtonian gravity, which had dominated astronomy and physics for more than three centuries, was merely an approximation of a more subtle and elegant model. Einstein showed us that gravity is not a mere force but is rather the foundation of cosmic structure. Gravity, Einstein said, defined the structure of space and time itself.
Continue reading “Einstein Predicted How Gravity Should Work at the Largest Scales. And He Was Right”A Nearby Supernova Could Finally Reveal Dark Matter
Despite 90 years of research, the nature and influence of Dark Matter continue to elude astronomers and cosmologists. First proposed in the 1960s to explain the rotational curves of galaxies, this invisible mass does not interact with normal matter (except through gravity) and accounts for 85% of the total mass in the Universe. It is also a vital component in the most widely accepted cosmological model of the Universe, the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model. However, according to new research, the hunt for DM could be over as soon as a nearby star goes supernova.
Currently, the axion is considered the most likely candidate for DM, a hypothetical low-mass particle proposed in the 1970s to resolve problems in quantum theory. There has also been considerable research into how astronomers could detect axions by observing neutron stars and objects with powerful magnetic fields. In a recent study supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, a team of astrophysicists at the University of California Berkeley argued that axions could be discovered within seconds of detecting gamma rays from a nearby supernova explosion.
Continue reading “A Nearby Supernova Could Finally Reveal Dark Matter”America’s Particle Physics Plan Spans the Globe — and the Cosmos
RALEIGH, N.C. — Particle physicist Hitoshi Murayama admits that he used to worry about being known as the “most hated man” in his field of science. But the good news is that now he can joke about it.
Last year, the Berkeley professor chaired the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel, or P5, which drew up a list of multimillion-dollar physics experiments that should move ahead over the next 10 years. The list focused on phenomena ranging from subatomic smash-ups to cosmic inflation. At the same time, the panel also had to decide which projects would have to be left behind for budgetary reasons, which could have turned Murayama into the Dr. No of physics.
Although Murayama has some regrets about the projects that were put off, he’s satisfied with how the process turned out. Now he’s just hoping that the federal government will follow through on the P5’s top priorities.
Continue reading “America’s Particle Physics Plan Spans the Globe — and the Cosmos”Neutron Stars May be Shrouded in Extremely Light Particles Called Axions
Since the 1960s, astronomers have theorized that the Universe may be filled with a mysterious mass that only interacts with “normal matter” via gravity. This mass, nicknamed Dark Matter (DM), is essential to resolving issues between astronomical observations and General Relativity. In recent years, scientists have considered that DM may be composed of axions, a class of hypothetical elementary particles with low mass within a specific range. First proposed in the 1970s to resolve problems in the Standard Model of particle physics, these particles have emerged as a leading candidate for DM.
In addition to growing evidence that this could be the case, researchers at CERN are developing a new telescope that could help the scientific community look for axions – the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST). According to new research conducted by an international team of physicists, these hypothetical particles may occur in large clouds around neutron stars. These axions could be the long-awaited explanation for Dark Matter that cosmologists have spent decades searching for. What’s more, their research indicates that these axions may not be very difficult to observe from Earth.
Continue reading “Neutron Stars May be Shrouded in Extremely Light Particles Called Axions”Check Out This Sneak Peek of the Euclid mission’s Cosmic Atlas
On July 1st, 2023 (Canada Day!), the ESA’s Euclid mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. As part of the ESA’s Cosmic Vision Programme, the purpose of this medium-class mission was to observe the “Dark Universe.” This will consist of observing billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away to create the most extensive 3D map of the Universe ever created. This map will allow astronomers and cosmologists to trace the evolution of the cosmos, helping to resolve the mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy.
The first images captured by Euclid were released by the ESA in November 2023 and May 2024, which provided a glimpse at their quality. On October 15th, 2024, the first piece of Euclid‘s great map of the Universe was revealed at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Milan. This 208-gigapixel mosaic contains 260 observations made between March 25th and April 8th, 2024, and provides detailed imagery of millions of stars and galaxies. This mosaic accounts for just 1% of the wide survey that Euclid will cover over its six-year mission and provides a sneak peek at what the final map will look like.
Continue reading “Check Out This Sneak Peek of the Euclid mission’s Cosmic Atlas”