Dark matter is a mysterious force that makes up over 80% of the universe. Yet, we still don’t really know what it is. Recently, astronomers stumbled upon something that might help us understand it better.
In two new studies published in Nature Astronomy and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, researchers detected a low mass object in the ancient outskirts of the universe. They used a technique called gravitational lensing, which analyzes how the gravity of a massive galaxy distorts light from objects behind it.
Chris Fassnacht, an astronomer at the University of California, Davis, and co-author of the Nature Astronomy study, called this discovery an impressive achievement. He mentioned that finding low-mass objects is crucial to grasping the nature of dark matter.
This newly found object weighs more than a million times the mass of our Sun and is located about 10 billion light years away. This means we’re observing it from a time when the universe was only 6.5 billion years old. It’s remarkable that this is the lightest mass object detected using gravitational lensing, and it’s lighter by about 100 times than previous findings.
To locate this object, researchers connected radio telescopes worldwide, creating an “Earth-sized super-telescope.” They also designed special algorithms to sift through the massive amount of data collected.
Since dark matter is invisible, we can’t see it directly. However, we can observe its gravitational pull on nearby objects. This pull is believed to be essential for forming the universe’s largest structures, such as galaxies and stars. Current theories, particularly the lambda CDM model, help explain this; CDM stands for “cold dark matter.” There’s ongoing debate about whether dark matter is “hot” (light and fast-moving particles) or “cold” (heavier and slower). Cold dark matter could lead to clumpy structures, while hot dark matter would spread more evenly.
Devon Powell from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, who led the Nature study, noted that this new dark object supports the cold dark matter theory. If dark matter forms clumps, then we should find various halos scattered throughout the universe.
However, the confirmation of what this object actually is remains pending. The leading thought is that it could be a halo of dark matter, but it might also be an inactive dwarf galaxy. The researchers emphasize that measuring its mass, size, and position at such a distance is unprecedented.
This discovery highlights ongoing efforts in astrophysics and gives us a glimpse into the universe’s complex structure. As scientists continue to study these low-mass objects, we may uncover even more about the nature of dark matter.
For further reading on dark matter and its implications, you can check studies on platforms like NASA or The European Space Agency.
