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Dark matter is an element as elusive as implied by its name. However, a team of Canadian scientists has managed to develop a map of this mysterious mass which was achieved thanks to a “composite” image.
According to generally withheld theories, dark matters makes up about 85 percent of all the mass in the Universe. Despite this fact, science has been unable to take a closer look, analyze, or capture its images.
This is because such matter is ‘invisible.’ More precisely, it neither absorbs, emits, or reflects any light sources. For quite some time, researchers have reportedly considered it to to be the “bridge” connecting galaxies to one another. At the same time, dark matter may also account for quite a large part of a galaxy’s mass.
Scientists Have Been Able To Create The First Ever Composite Image Of Dark Matter
A Canadian study team was able to create an image of the matter as they combined pictures of the outer space. These captured some 23,000 galaxy pairs, all of them located some 4.5 billion light-years away.
The researchers that achieved this feat are part of the University of Waterloo. They published a study paper on the matter in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal. The team also released a statement on the matter earlier this week. Mike Hudson, an astronomy professor part of the University and study author, stated the following.
Research has long since predicted the existence of this type of matter. This is believed to act like a “web-like superstructure” which can connect galaxies in between themselves.
“This image moves us beyond predictions to something we can see and measure.”
The image, as well as further observations on the matter, could help better understand this elusive component. It may help establish the dark matter’s composition as this has not yet been determined.
Image Source: Wikimedia
