Dark Matter Mapped
As we have discussed before, many creative scientists working at the
cutting edge of physics and astronomy have a strong intuition that dark
matter is more than just an astronomical curiosity, but something of
immeasurable importance to all of us.
An extraordinary article was published this morning in the journal Nature.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it is thought to account for 80-90% of the mass in the Universe. Using the Hubble telescope astronomers have presented data at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Seattle, Washington, showing a map of the cosmic scaffolding of dark matter upon which the stars and galaxies are assembled.
The research involved over 1,000 hours of observations followed by many more thousands of hours of analysis. The research provides the best evidence yet that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark matte, because dark matter attracts “ordinary” matter through its gravitational pull.
Previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one details its large-scale distribution in 3 dimensions. As the authors said in a press conference, it is like suddenly seeing a map of a city for the first time, when before all you had to go on was an aerial picture of the street lamps at night.
What is fascinating is that this is direct confirmation of what until now had just been a theory. But interesting problems remain, so we certainly do not know everything yet.
Students of the Ageless Wisdom will be intrigued by these findings that seem to echo predictions and statements about the Universe made many centuries ago.
There are some amazing pictures here.
I shall keep you informed as this story develops and as its practical implications are revealed.