What is Dark Matter?
According to scientists about 85% of the matter in the universe is invisible to the human eyes and conventional telescope. This matter is called dark matter, and we are unable to see it because it does absorb, emit, or reflect any light. It was discovered by Vera Rubin, who found that the stars on the outer edges of the Andromeda galaxy were moving just as fast as those near the center, which went against standard gravitational expectations. This led to the belief that something other than visible matter existed to hold these stars together, and this invisible material holding everything together became known as dark matter.
Dark Matter
How is Dark Matter Mapped?
So, how is dark matter mapped if it cannot be seen? Scientists map dark matter through gravity and a phenomenon described by Albert Einstein as gravitational lensing. According to his theory of general relativity, massive objects bend spacetime. When light from far away galaxies travel towards Earth, it can bend when it passes through areas filled with matter, which includes dark matter. Scientists measure these small distortions in light patterns across the shapes of millions of galaxies to determine where dark matter must be located.
By Rushi Patel