Dark matter's limited force interactions make its detection difficult

Dark matter's invisible pull shapes galaxies and our understanding of the cosmos

Though it makes up about 25% of the universe, dark matter can't be seen directly; its existence is inferred through its gravitational effects, like the unexpectedly fast rotation of galaxies. The concept began in 1933 but gained wide acceptance after Vera Rubin's galaxy rotation studies in the 1970s.

Dark matter may be one of many hidden particles that don't interact with light

Theoretical candidates, such as axions and supersymmetric WIMPs, may open the door to a new branch of particle physics that shapes the cosmos through gravity. Some of these particles may constantly pass through us but interact too weakly to be detected.

Dark matter and dark energy make up 95% of the universe

Dark matter holds galaxies and other large-scale structures together through gravity, and dark energy drives the universe's accelerating expansion. While scientists do not know what either is made of, they see how these dark components affect the normal matter in the universe.

Astronomical models suggest dark matter must be 'cold,' or slow-moving

Theories for what constitutes dark matter have ranged from slow, planet-sized objects to light subatomic particles that travel at high speeds. However, fast-moving candidates would quickly spread across the universe, preventing the gradual gathering of visible matter into the galaxies and galaxy clusters seen today through gravity.

Dark matter detected in the cosmic web

Researchers from Yonsei University detected dark matter on the cosmic web, a network of filaments that feed gas into galaxies. The detection was made possible by using the general theory of relativity to analyze gravitational microlensing around the Coma Cluster. This article explains the phenomenon and how the detection supports the presence of dark matter throughout the cosmic web.

It may be possible to create dark matter in particle accelerators

In high-energy collisions, exotic forms of matter can be produced by directly converting energy into mass according to *E = mc*². Even though a dark matter particle would not be directly observable, its creation would result in unaccounted-for mass, which can be compared to potential dark matter candidates for indirect detection.

The European Space Agency's Euclid telescope maps dark matter

As light rays travel near massive objects in space, their paths can be distorted on their way to Earth, causing objects to appear displaced, magnified, shrunken, or sheared. By simulating these effects for various mass distributions, astronomers can match the distortion to a simulated mass and compare it with the observed visible matter to infer the presence of dark matter.

Dark matter and dark energy, explained

What is dark energy? What is dark matter? Well, if we knew exactly, we would have a Nobel prize—we know that they exist, though. Scientists have theorized that the former may be a property of three-dimensional space itself, while the latter could be exotic particles that interact with almost nothing. This video from Kurzgesagt explains what we know and what we don't.

The structure of the Bullet Cluster cannot be explained without dark matter

In gravitational lensing, mass bends spacetime, deflecting passing light rays. Instead of this deflection being strongest near the gas within galaxies, where visible matter is densest, lensing is strongest in front of the collided galaxies. This suggests the presence of clumps of dark matter that were not slowed by friction during impact.

The observable universe has a mass of 100 sexdecillion kilograms

The amount of visible matter in the universe is most accurately determined by measuring the cosmic microwave background. Quantities of dark matter and dark energy are calculated through the observed bending of light around galaxies and the expansion of the universe, respectively.

LIGO can detect changes in spacetime one ten-thousandth the width of a proton

Gravity is the weakest of the fundamental forces in nature, meaning the length of objects only changes by minuscule amounts as gravitational waves ripple through space from distant, albeit massive, cosmic events. LIGO's sensitivity can measure an object shifting its position by one seven-hundred-trillionth of the width of a human hair.

As of 2025, LUX-ZEPLIN is the world's most sensitive dark matter experiment

The experiment is designed to indirectly detect WIMPs—weakly interacting massive particles and a candidate for what dark matter is made of—by looking for light produced when they collide with xenon atoms. Such collisions would also release electrons, which are then manipulated to produce a secondary light signal that helps rule out background effects.

One study suggests that dark matter may have originated from a dark Big Bang

A student-faculty team at Colgate University modeled the event as occurring months after the conventional Big Bang and determined the potential gravitational wave signal that would have been left behind. Future gravitational wave detectors are expected to be sensitive enough to observe this signal, if it exists.

Universes with stronger dark energy may be more common than ours

Research shows that while universes with slightly weaker dark energy form stars more efficiently, universes with stronger dark energy are statistically more common and can still support star formation. This challenges the anthropic logic that our universe must have ideal conditions for life because we exist to observe them.

Dark stars are hypothetical stars that would have existed in the early universe

Primarily composed of visible matter, this celestial object would also contain a significant amount of dark matter that would annihilate with itself, converting its mass into energy. This energy would prevent the star from collapsing under its own gravity and from triggering nuclear fusion until its dark matter fuel was exhausted.

Simulate the distribution of dark matter within a galaxy

By modifying the dark matter density at different distances from the center of a simulated galaxy, you can plot the resulting orbital speed of stars. Preset data enables you to replicate astrophysicists' work in determining the dark matter concentration that best fits observed structures.

The Standard Model reveals an underlying organization to the universe

Using the framework of quantum field theory, it structures all known particles into 12 matter particles, alongside five particles that carry three of the four fundamental forces. Although remarkably precise and predictive, it cannot yet explain gravity, dark matter, or dark energy.

Gravity, electromagnetism, and two nuclear forces make up nature’s fundamental forces

While gravity is the most familiar force, it is also the weakest and the only one without a particle to mediate the force. The weak nuclear force is responsible for radioactive decay and transmutation of elements, while the strong nuclear force holds quarks together.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

A cup of coffee on Earth contains about 100 proton masses worth of dark matter

The estimate is based on Earth's location within the Milky Way and the dark matter cloud it resides in. Because scientists do not know the nature of dark matter, the mass may be accounted for with any number of dark matter particles of varying mass.

Mars' orbit may provide evidence that dark matter is made of primordial black holes

Physicists at MIT have found that, statistically, one such microscopic black hole should pass through the solar system every decade, which they predict would introduce a detectable wobble in Mars' orbit. Such black holes would have formed in the early universe from collapsing gas clouds and scattered as the universe expanded.

Modified Newtonian dynamics revises gravity to eliminate the need for dark matter

Rather than imagining that an undiscovered particle is responsible for discrepancies in the orbits of stars and galaxies, MOND suggests that the mathematics underlying Newton's laws of gravity and force change beyond a certain scale. However, the suggested revisions struggle to explain relativistic effects involving gravity, including gravitational lensing and gravitational waves.

Delays in the decay of unstable particles provide evidence for time dilation

Physicists used the muon half-life measured in labs to predict how many should reach detectors on Earth's surface after their production in collisions between atmospheric molecules and cosmic rays. Higher detection rates were consistent with a longer half-life due to slower movement through time.

The finite speed of light means we can only perceive the world's past

When objects emit or reflect light, it takes time for the light to reach an observer and be detected. During the travel time, the object may have changed, limiting detections to describing the conditions of the object when the light was first emitted or reflected, before it was detected.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

How do scientists study far away stars?

Astronomy is the only science that is purely observational: meaning, scientists can't study stars in a lab. Here's a breakdown of how modern researchers use new tools to understand objects billions of light years away. As it turns out, the rules of science allow us to identify, categorize, and experiment with phenomena light years away.

Why most atoms do not spontaneously break apart, despite protons repelling one another

At small scales, the strong nuclear force overwhelms electromagnetic repulsion between positively charged particles, keeping the nucleus intact. However, because the force's range is limited, it cannot provide the attraction needed to hold onto protons that are spread out across very large atomic nuclei.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Stars appear to twinkle because turbulence in the motion of molecules in Earth's atmosphere causes light to bend and wiggle rapidly on its way to the surface—a phenomenon called scintillation.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak is hampered by a lack of vaccine against the species of the virus, heightening the need for rapid tests to aid in disease control.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO