Scientists have finally caught a glimpse of dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up 27% of the universe, according to a groundbreaking new study.
Researchers have been searching for evidence of dark matter for decades, but it wasn't until recently that they stumbled upon what appears to be its signature in the form of gamma rays emanating from the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.
The discovery was made by astrophysicist Prof Tomonori Totani, who analysed data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The telescope is capable of detecting the most energetic photons in the electromagnetic spectrum, and Totani spotted a pattern of gamma rays that bears an uncanny resemblance to the shape of dark matter halos.
"This could be a crucial breakthrough in unraveling the nature of dark matter," said Totani, adding that if true, it would be a major turning point in the decades-long search for this elusive substance.
However, experts caution that more work is needed to confirm the findings and rule out less exotic explanations. One theory suggests that dark matter is made up of weakly interacting massive particles (wimps), which are heavier than protons but barely interact with normal matter.
To test this theory, Totani would need to detect gamma rays with the same spectrum from other regions of space, such as dwarf galaxies. According to Prof Justin Read, an astrophysicist at the University of Surrey, the lack of significant signals from such galaxies strongly argues against the idea that dark matter is responsible for the observed radiation.
Prof Kinwah Wu, a theoretical astrophysicist at UCL, also urged caution, saying that while the analysis has potential, it's not yet extraordinary evidence. "This analysis has not reached this status yet... It is a piece of work which serves as an encouragement for the workers in the field to keep on pressing."
Despite these caveats, the discovery has sparked excitement among scientists and could be a major breakthrough in our understanding of the universe.
Researchers have been searching for evidence of dark matter for decades, but it wasn't until recently that they stumbled upon what appears to be its signature in the form of gamma rays emanating from the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.
The discovery was made by astrophysicist Prof Tomonori Totani, who analysed data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The telescope is capable of detecting the most energetic photons in the electromagnetic spectrum, and Totani spotted a pattern of gamma rays that bears an uncanny resemblance to the shape of dark matter halos.
"This could be a crucial breakthrough in unraveling the nature of dark matter," said Totani, adding that if true, it would be a major turning point in the decades-long search for this elusive substance.
However, experts caution that more work is needed to confirm the findings and rule out less exotic explanations. One theory suggests that dark matter is made up of weakly interacting massive particles (wimps), which are heavier than protons but barely interact with normal matter.
To test this theory, Totani would need to detect gamma rays with the same spectrum from other regions of space, such as dwarf galaxies. According to Prof Justin Read, an astrophysicist at the University of Surrey, the lack of significant signals from such galaxies strongly argues against the idea that dark matter is responsible for the observed radiation.
Prof Kinwah Wu, a theoretical astrophysicist at UCL, also urged caution, saying that while the analysis has potential, it's not yet extraordinary evidence. "This analysis has not reached this status yet... It is a piece of work which serves as an encouragement for the workers in the field to keep on pressing."
Despite these caveats, the discovery has sparked excitement among scientists and could be a major breakthrough in our understanding of the universe.
Omg dark matter 
finally found out about it 
after all those yrs searching for it 
! Prof Totani's analysis 
from NASA's Fermi telescope 
is like, super promising 
! But experts are still like 
. Need more proof & rules out other explanations 
. Weakly interacting massive particles (wimps) theory 
sounds cool tho 
but need more data to confirm 
! Still super excited for this breakthrough 
anyway so supposedly they found some kinda signature from the centre of our galaxy in gamma rays... prof totani analyzed it & now everyone's all excited 
they wanna test it out more n make sure it's not just a coincidence or something less exotic like wimps 
it's crazy that scientists have been searching for this stuff for decades and only now are they getting close to finding evidence 
.
- but let's keep an open mind here. It's not like they've found some smoking gun or anything just yet. The experts are all like "caution, caution" which just sounds like code for "we're not ready for primetime yet" 
.
And I'm over here thinking like "yaaas if dark matter is made of wimps, that sounds kinda cool" 
do you think we'll ever figure out the nature of dark matter though? 
. It's good to have a healthy dose of skepticism, right? 
. it's gonna take more work to confirm this and rule out other explanations... but i mean, can you blame 'em? 27% of the universe is pretty mysterious stuff 
! and now they're talking about testing it out on dwarf galaxies... this is like the ultimate sci-fi movie plot 
! gotta see where this all goes, but for now, let's just say i'm hyped to be living in a universe with dark matter 
it was only a matter of time before someone spotted some gamma rays that fit the bill. I mean, come on 27% of the universe is basically just sitting there waiting to be discovered right? and yeah, Prof Tomonori Totani spotting it in the Milky Way galaxy is just the cherry on top 
. Experts being cautious and stuff is totally overthinking this one - who needs proof when you've got a solid theory and some fancy gamma rays