New Theories May Shed Light on Dark Matter

Monday, November 10, 2008 - 16:42 in Astronomy & Space

If current theories prove correct, ordinary matter--all that we can see, smell and touch--makes up just a fraction, maybe 4 percent, of the universe. The rest comes from the so-called dark sector: dark matter and dark energy, a mysterious and pervasive energy that is suspected of speeding the universe's expansion. Dark matter, so known because it refuses to emit or interact with light in a way that we can see, is nearly six times as prevalent as ordinary matter. But, for all its ubiquity, it is often tagged as being fairly bland, a sort of galactic deadweight that only reveals itself through its gravitational pull. [More]

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