The First Indirect Detection of Dark Matter(?)

Dark matter is one of the universe's most befuddling, and elusive, components. It could make up roughly a quarter of the universe's total mass and energy, yet no one knows for sure because no one has actually seen it. Well, it may be showing itself at last. nasa's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has recorded high-energy gamma-ray light emanating from the center of the Milky Way that fits well with dark matter predictions. “I would consider it currently the most exciting signal that we have,” said physicist Rafael Lang of Purdue University, who was not involved in the study, at the American Physical Society's meeting in April in Savannah, Ga. If the light were truly caused by dark matter, it would be the first indirect detection of the particles that make up this shadowy substance.