Close to 80% of the mass in the universe is unaccounted for. The only hints of the missing mass’s existence are from the breadcrumbs of gravitational influence it leaves behind on the normal matter that makes up you, my dog, and every far-off galaxy. Physicists have labeled this mysterious, unknown quantity of mass “dark matter,” and it is currently one of the biggest open problems on the frontier of theoretical and experimental physics. The effort to detect dark matter draws over $100 million each year alone, and thousands of professors and graduate students from all over the world have dedicated their careers to understanding it.
The first bits of evidence indicating dark matter’s existence came from astronomical data of distant rotating galaxies. To the naked eye, or more precisely, to a telescope capable of detecting light across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, far-off galaxies are rotating faster than they “should.” For a spiral galaxy, the rotational speed at any point on the spiral is related to both the point’s distance from the center of the galaxy and the amount of mass present in the galaxy. Given both the speed of a point on the galaxy and the radius to that point, astronomers can deduce the total amount of mass present. However, astronomers can also estimate the amount of mass simply by observing the total amount of light given off by the stars that constitute the galaxy. As it turns out, there’s a large discrepancy between these two numbers. For a given galaxy to rotate as fast as it does, it would need roughly ten to twenty times more mass than physicists and astronomers observe it having.
And yet, that mass is nowhere to be found. There simply is no luminous matter, or matter that interacts with light, to cont...
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... measures as a positive WIMP annihilation event.
Thus far, dark matter has remained elusive, but physicists see little cause for concern. Experimental data has only just begun to carve out the range of masses where WIMPs can exist. Extremely sensitive detectors are only a few years away, as both the LUX and XENON teams are currently designing devices that would make use of over a ton of liquid xenon. Further, the inability of AMS to distinguish between WIMP annihilation events and pulsars is only temporary. More data of high-energy events would give physicists the capacity to pinpoint the source of cosmic rays. Indeed, within the physics community, there seems to be general optimism that the true nature of dark matter will soon come to light. As Samuel Ting, the Nobel Laureate who designed the AMS, says, “It is only a matter of time, perhaps months or a few years.”
There are still numerous possibilities and crossroads that have not been discovered but could create an energy
Einstein's equation "E=mc^2" has two sides which is constructive and destructive. The constructive side is when energy is converted into mass and the destructive side is when a small amount of mass is converted into energy. According to Einstein’s equation, the physicists of the Manhattan project hypothesized that a minute mass ...
The origins of the super-massive black holes which concludes how they were formed and what caused them to form is an unsolved problem which is yet a mystery of astrophysics. ( Millis 2014)
Two men named Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis has a debate in 1920 that is still important today for changing how we think about galaxies. They talked about five important things. The first thing they debated was how big our galaxy, the Milky Way, is. Shapley said that the Milky Way was much bigger than we first thought, 100,000 light-years across, and that, because it was that big, it had to be the only one. Curtis said the the Milky Way was smaller than that, and that other galaxies existed past ours. They were both right and both wrong. Shapley was right about the size of the Milky Way, and Curtis was right about there being many more galaxies in the universe.
Matter, as we conceive it today, did not exist after the Big Bang, because the temperature was too high for that. While trying to join protons and electrons, light continually crossed apart. Only when the universe had cooled to 3,000 K, the atoms are held together and the light was beginning to happen.
Just recently a major discovery was found with the help of a device known as The Hubble Telescope. This telescope has just recently found what many astronomers believe to be a black hole, After being focuses on a star orbiting empty space. Several pictures of various radiation fluctuations and other diverse types of readings that could be read from that area which the black hole is suspected to be in.
The discovery of the vast universe, that exists outside our galaxy, began with Edwin Hubble’s discovery of a Cepheid Variable star in Andromeda, which he used to measure the distance to our neighbouring galaxy (Bennett et al. 109). This was instrumental in establishing Hubble’s law or the theory that the universe is expanding and galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way (Bennett et al. 109). However, Andromeda poses a contradiction; while other galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way, Andromeda is actually moving towards it and is set on a collision course with our galaxy. This paper will explore the different ways in which galaxies interact with each other, particularly focusing on galactic mergers. It will also analyze the impact of the Andromeda-Milky Way collision including the effect on existing objects in these galaxies such as stars and black holes, the creation of new bodies and the implication for the survival of life on Earth.
The universe, a vast, ever-expanding space full of mystery, just waiting to be discovered. With the mystery comes speculation; a multitude of researchers focus on one question, are there extraterrestrials out there? While highly controversial, scientists with the help of SETI have proved that this is possible. In order to be prepared for the possible ETs, researchers at SETI work constantly to find answers. Because of the growing research that Extraterrestrial Intelligence is possible, SETI, a credible organization, should receive funding from the government to continue their research.
Just because we do not understand this immeasurable form of energy does not mean we should deny its existence. Most souls go on to something better, such as Heaven, or worse, Hell perhaps. But, some remain behind... Bibliography:.. Berlitz, Charles. A. A. World of strange phenomena.
Matter is energy (Fernflores 1). The fact that electron-positron interactions can either produce photons or...
We stand at the base of a new age. We are just now beginning to learn the intricate details of life, both macroscopic and microscopic. Ultimately these discoveries will benefit all of mankind. Never before have we enjoyed such a golden age for science and discovery. The scientific horizon looks fruitful. One such fruit is the discovery and application of a thing called antimatter. During the next few decades our ability to produce, accumulate, and contain large quantities of antimatter should become feasible, leaving us just to research possible uses for this promising, radically new, form of energy.
Black holes have been one of the most difficult challenges for astronomers and scientist for many years. I think with new technology that astronomers will be able to gather more information that can offer more insight into the world of black holes. There are many unanswered questions that could possibly lead to a better understanding of how Earth was created. It could also lead to more information on different galaxies and any similarities they may have to our own. The universe is so vast and we may never find the answers to some questions, but it is a worthy task to try and find out all we can about our existence.
A galaxy, also called a nebula, consists of billions of stars, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter which are all bound to form a massive cloud in which we live in. Although it cannot be very well explained, dark matter makes up at least 90% of a galaxy’s mass. Galaxies also contain billions upon billions of stars and their diameter can range from 1,500 to 300,000 light years. That’s huge! The Milky Way, the galaxy in which we live in, is one of about 170 billion galaxies in the observable universe. Our Sun is one of the billions of stars in our galaxy, and our eight planets revolve around this star in only a tiny part of our galaxy. “The Earth’s solar system is believed to exist very close to the Galaxy’s galactic plane, due to the fact that the Milky Way essentially divides the night sky into two virtually equal hemispheres” ("All About the Milky"). It definitely makes people second guess the fact of there being life on other planets.
Astronomers believe that most galaxies consist of a supermassive black hole at the center, which attracts all constituents of galaxies such as, dust, gases (mainly Hydrogen and Helium), atoms, stars, interstellar clouds and planets to the center by force of gravity, but are not sure whether all galaxies contain a black hole in the center. Galaxies keep moving in relative motion to one another and intermittently can come so close that the force of gravitational attraction between the galaxies may become strong enough to cause a change in the shape of the galaxies, while in exceptional cases, the galaxies may collide. If two galaxies collide, they may pass right through without any effect or may merge, forming strands of stars, extending beyond 100,000 light years in space (World Book Online Reference Centre, 2005). Hence, neighboring and often other colliding galaxies induce the sha...
This is probably the greatest discovery imaginable; however, the universe still seems to be a very controversial subject.