Unravelling the Mystery of Dark Matter

AI Thread Summary
Dark matter is a theoretical form of matter introduced to explain discrepancies in the motion of celestial bodies, with recent observations, such as those from WMAP, supporting its existence. It is characterized by its mass, which influences gravitational forces but remains difficult to detect through conventional means. The leading candidates for dark matter are weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). The discussion highlights the evolving understanding of dark matter and its implications for the universe. Overall, dark matter remains a critical area of research in astrophysics.
gunblaze
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Dark matter??

What's that?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
An uber-fudge made originally to account for discrepancies in the circular motion of certain celestial bodies. But much less of a fudge now, with better observations (eg. WMAP) that appear to confirm dark matter's existence. Essentially, dark matter is matter whose mass exerts an influence, but hard to detect by normal means. Most likely, they are WIMPs. (weakly interacting massive particles)

Makes sense from a certain point of view - why, after all, should most matter in the universe interact in the ways we are used to?
 


Originally posted by gunblaze
What's that?
There are several threads in the Sticky thread "A&C reference library" (at the top of this sub-forum). Marcus feels that this thread to which I contributed a few posts is a good place to start on this topic.
 

Thread 'Potential biosignature found in Mars rock'

Publication: Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars Article: NASA Says Mars Rover Discovered Potential Biosignature Last Year Press conference The ~100 authors don't find a good way this could have formed without life, but also can't rule it out. Now that they have shared their findings with the larger community someone else might find an explanation - or maybe it was actually made by life.
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Thread 'Does it make sense to build new radio telescopes?'

TL;DR Summary: In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect alien signals, it will further expand the radius of the so-called silence (or rather, radio silence) of the Universe. Is there any sense in this or is blissful ignorance better? In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect...
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Thread 'Could gamma-ray bursts have an intragalactic origin?'

Thread 'Could gamma-ray bursts have an intragalactic origin?'

This is indirectly evidenced by a map of the distribution of gamma-ray bursts in the night sky, made in the form of an elongated globe. And also the weakening of gamma radiation by the disk and the center of the Milky Way, which leads to anisotropy in the possibilities of observing gamma-ray bursts. My line of reasoning is as follows: 1. Gamma radiation should be absorbed to some extent by dust and other components of the interstellar medium. As a result, with an extragalactic origin, fewer...
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