Dark matter discovery: Bail me out, guys?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the discovery of dark matter, specifically addressing questions related to its discovery timeline and key measurements that support its existence. Participants explore historical context, observational evidence, and seek resources for further research.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses confusion about the discovery of dark matter and seeks specific references for when it was discovered and what measurements confirmed its existence in 2003.
  • Another participant suggests looking at a related topic in the forum for additional information.
  • A participant notes that the rotation curves of galaxies do not match expectations based on visible matter, indicating a long-standing issue rather than a single discovery event.
  • A link is provided to a European Space Agency page that may contain relevant information about observations from 2003.
  • One participant reflects on the historical aspect, suggesting that Fritz Zwicky's conjecture about missing mass could be considered an early identification of dark matter.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on a specific discovery date or measurement for dark matter, and multiple perspectives on its historical context and significance are presented.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the ambiguity surrounding the exact moment of dark matter's discovery and the reliance on various observational data over time. The lack of a singular event or measurement is noted, along with the dependence on different interpretations of historical contributions.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in cosmology, dark matter research, and the historical development of astrophysical theories may find this discussion relevant.

Math Is Hard
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I went to a cosmology seminar recently. It was mostly for fun,
but if you complete a take home exam you get a tiny bit of college credit for it.
Things were going along fine until I ran across the last two questions:

How was Dark Matter just discovered and when did this happen?

What measurement in 2003 confirmed the Dark Matter evidence?

I can't find any specific references to this in my notes about Dark Matter actually being discovered other than
some information about ongoing experiments for detection being done with liquid xenon.
The lecturer was very good but he was way over my head technically. Could anyone point me to some web links where I can research these questions more? I am turning up zilch on my web searches and I would
really like to take a stab at answering them.


Thanks!
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
Or try looking at the link in the "Dark Matter Detected? (Oct1 Reprint)" Topic in this very Forum.
 
The answer: the rotation curves of galaxies (the graph of rotation velocity versus radial distance from the center) is not what is expected from the light curve (the graph of luminosity versus radial distance).

It's been known for at least 50 years, but I'm not sure there was a single distinct observation that launched the idea.

- Warren
 
Wow - thanks for the direction on this, everybody. I really appreciate it.
 
p.s. I finally decided the first question was probably a trick. If anybody "discovered" Dark Matter I would think it was Fritz Zwicky when he conjectured about missing mass keeping the galaxies from flying apart.
That might not be the answer they are looking for but it works for me.
 

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