All articles tagged with #dark matter
Researchers analyzing a LIGO-detected gravitational-wave signal propose it may come from a primordial black hole with subsolar mass, offering a potential direct test of PBH existence and a possible link to dark matter, though more detections are required for confirmation.
A LIGO detection involving an object lighter than a solar mass challenges standard stellar-black-hole formation, with researchers proposing a primordial black hole created in the early universe as the explanation. If confirmed, PBHs could account for dark matter, but further detections and next‑gen observatories like LISA and Cosmic Explorer are needed to build stronger evidence.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope (with Euclid and Subaru) identified CDG-2 in the Perseus Cluster, a 300-million-light-year‑away galaxy that appears almost entirely devoid of stars; the object is estimated to be 99.9% dark matter, kept together by a halo and four globular clusters after nearby galaxies stripped away its star-forming material, making it a rare, near-pristine laboratory for studying dark matter.
Researchers are building MOTHRA in Chile using 1,140 Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS lenses across 30 mounts to form a 4.7-meter-equivalent aperture. The project, expanding on the Dragonfly concept, pairs each lens with Apx26/60 cameras (Sony IMX571/IMX455 sensors) to image diffuse ionized gas that traces the cosmic web and dark matter. Construction is underway at El Sauce Observatory with completion targeted by year’s end, funded by Alex Gerko of XTX Markets. The goal is to directly image the unseen mass connecting galaxies, an ambitious step beyond traditional starlight observations.
Construction has begun on MOTHRA, the world’s largest all-lens telescope, which uses 1,140 Canon telephoto lenses as a distributed aperture to detect faint hydrogen gas linking galaxies and map the cosmic web, revealing the distribution of dark matter. Built at the El Sauce Observatory in Chile, it aims to begin scientific observations by the end of 2026, funded by Alex Gerko and Convergent Research as part of the Dragonfly FRO initiative.
Astronomers say a single excited dark matter model could explain three puzzling signals from the Milky Way's center—the 511-keV gamma-ray line, a 2 MeV continuum, and unusually high ionisation in the Central Molecular Zone—potentially guiding future space missions to test dark matter behavior.
Researchers using computer simulations reveal the Local Group sits in a vast, flat sheet of matter—dominated by dark matter—with large voids above and below. This structure counteracts the Milky Way–Andromeda gravity, causing nearby galaxies to recede rather than fall inward and producing a virtual twin of our cosmic neighborhood that matches the observed positions and speeds of galaxies just outside the Local Group.
Astronomers using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, Euclid and the Subaru Telescope identified Candidate Dark Galaxy-2 (CDG-2), a distant galaxy that appears to be about 99.9% dark matter and extremely star-poor. The galaxy’s mass is inferred from a halo of four globular clusters, suggesting a rare, almost-dark galaxy that could provide a cleaner probe of dark matter—though further observations, including with the James Webb Space Telescope, are needed to confirm its dark matter content.
A new Nature Astronomy study using constrained, Lambda-CDM–based simulations finds the Local Group’s unseen mass is arranged not in a spherical halo but in a flattened dark matter plane tens of millions of light-years across. This geometry better reproduces the observed motions of nearby galaxies and the local Hubble flow, reducing discrepancies seen in spherical models while remaining consistent with overall cosmology. The result highlights how the dark matter around us likely forms sheets and filaments in the cosmic web, though more data is needed to pin down the plane’s thickness and orientation.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope, Euclid, and the Subaru Telescope have identified Candidate Dark Galaxy-2 (CDG-2) in the Perseus Cluster, a galaxy so faint it’s dominated by dark matter—at least 99.9%—with four globular clusters indicating a massive dark halo and little to no starlight. The finding, based on globular clusters around a largely starless galaxy, suggests such dark galaxies may be common and could provide clean tests of dark matter physics; further observations with the James Webb Space Telescope could help confirm its dark matter content.
A Canadian-led team using NASA’s Hubble, ESA’s Euclid and the Subaru Telescope has identified CDG-2, a candidate dark galaxy about 250 million light-years away that appears nearly invisible and is thought to be mostly dark matter, detected via a faint glow around four globular clusters. The galaxy is estimated to shine like only about 5 million stars, far fewer than the Milky Way, and researchers believe past interactions stripped away most of its stars—highlighting how indirect observations can reveal elusive cosmic structures and advance dark matter studies.
Astronomers have confirmed CDG-2, a faint galaxy in the Perseus cluster detected only through four globular clusters that provide about 16% of its light; by combining data from Hubble, Euclid, and Subaru, they estimate the galaxy’s total luminosity at roughly 6 million suns and a mass composed of 99.94%–99.98% dark matter, making it one of the most dark-matter–dominated galaxies and a valuable natural laboratory for studying dark matter and galaxy formation.
A Bonn-led study analyzing 46 nearby galaxy clusters finds their mass is about twice as heavy in baryonic matter as previously thought, due to components like stellar remnants and intracluster light. The revised accounting brings cluster masses closer to MOND predictions and challenges the need for exotic dark matter, with authors suggesting a reevaluation of dark-matter-focused research funding.
Astronomers using Hubble, with Euclid and Subaru, identified CDG-2 in the Perseus cluster as an extremely dark-matter–dominated galaxy—about 245 million to 300 million light-years away—where 99% of its mass is dark matter. The galaxy was detected indirectly by tracing four tightly packed globular clusters, which reveal a faint glow around them. Its normal matter is estimated at roughly 6 million sun-like stars, with about 16% accounted for by the globular clusters, suggesting past star formation that has since been stripped away by gravitational interactions. The discovery, highlighting a “dark galaxy” category, was reported in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope identified CDG-2, a very dim galaxy in the Perseus cluster that appears to be 99% dark matter, with most of its normal matter stripped away by the crowded environment; the galaxy is inferred from a surrounding globular cluster population, marking it as one of the most dark-matter–dominated galaxies and a test bed for theories of dark matter and star formation.