Much remains unknown about dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up most of matter in the universe. Findings of a new research, however, could help scientists determine the distribution and eventually the true nature of dark matter.
Dark matter makes up about 85 percent of all matter in the universe, but it has remained invisible because it does not appear to interact with regular matter such as light. Astronomers cannot detect dark matter using current instruments. They only know it exists because of the visible effect of its gravity,
A new study by two astrophysicists from Australia and Spain, however, may bring science closer to figuring out where the mysterious substance may lie.
Mireia Montes, from the University of New South Wales in Australia, and Ignacio Trujillo, from Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in Spain, said that faint light in galaxy clusters known as intracluster light can map the distribution of dark matter and help astronomers understand this invisible source of gravity.
The researchers explained that intracluster light are a byproduct of galactic interactions. When galaxies interact, individual stars are ejected from their home galaxy and float within the galaxy cluster. These stars then end up where most of the mass of the cluster, mostly dark matter, resides.
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