What is dark matter and does it really exist?

Unlike normal matter, dark matter does not interact with the electromagnetic force. This means it does not absorb, reflect or emit light, making it extremely hard to spot. In fact, researchers have been able to infer the existence of dark matter only from the gravitational effect it seems to have on visible matter.

What is dark matter and where can it be found?

The first variety is about 4.5 percent of the universe and is made of the familiar baryons (i.e., protons, neutrons, and atomic nuclei), which also make up the luminous stars and galaxies. Most of this baryonic dark matter is expected to exist in the form of gas in and between the galaxies.

What does dark matter explain?

Dark matter is composed of particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, so they cannot be detected by observing electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is material that cannot be seen directly. Scientists believe that dark matter may account for the unexplained motions of stars within galaxies.

How does dark matter look like?

So the researchers based their model off the most commonly held theory about dark matter: that it consists of weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs, that are 100 times the mass of ordinary protons yet weakly charged. They found that across the board, dark matter organizes itself in the same halo-like pattern.

How do we know that dark matter exists?

Dark matter was initially called “missing matter” because astronomers could not find it by observing the universe in any part of the electromagnetic spectrum. This material appears to have mass (and therefore generates gravity), but it does not appear to absorb or emit any electromagnetic radiation.

What are some interesting facts about dark matter?

Interesting facts about dark matter. Since dark matter is invisible to human eye it can only be detected through its gravitational influence on its surroundings. When the universe was still young clumps of dark matter have likely attracted gas, which then coalesced into stars that eventually assembled the today’s galaxies.

Is there proof of dark matter?

Certainly, there’s no definitive proof that dark matter exists—unless, of course, you take the gravitational forces and occasional snippets of wisdom from other studies to be enough proof to believe in dark matter without further evidence.

Is there any dark matter on Earth?

There is no reason to believe that dark matter cannot exist on Earth. In fact, there are many experiments based on Earth that are designed specifically to detect dark matter particles, including the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (currently running in Minnesota), and the XENON Dark Matter Search in Gran Sasso Italy.