The known universe
contains trillion of galaxies with billions of stars in it. Looking at the big
picture, the galaxies in universe are connected to each other by an invisible web
of dark matter. Due to some clever use of gravitational lensing these threads
of dark matter are now captured for the first time. A team of astronomers at
the University of Waterloo in Canada has seen the unseeable using the
space-bending effects of dark-matter to create a visual of their dark features
by combining the catalogues of galaxy groups that act as lenses with catalogues
of data on the light-sources behind them.
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S. Epps & M. Hudson / University of Waterloo
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Interesting thing is that
what we observe through telescope only makes the five percent of observable
universe. Other 68 percent of it exists, is some sort of energy that pushes
space apart at ever faster speeds. Since so little else is known about this, the
cause is referred to as 'dark energy'.
We only know the effect of
dark matter not its cause and it makes almost 27 percent of the observable
universe.
Dark matter is different.
It makes up about 27 percent of the observable Universe; and like dark energy,
we can see an effect without knowing much about what seems to be causing it.
Clumps of dark matter sit
silently, making a bit of a dent in the surrounding fabric of the Universe but
not responding to anything else. That effect is basically gravity.
As most materials that
have mass also seem to either emit or absorb electromagnetic radiation.
So far we are not able to
calculate the exact mass there should be to account for the movements and
positions of stars and galaxies.
Through this we are able
to analyze that old bright matter form clumps while more prevalent dark matter
forms holes around the glowing gas and stars.
That also means galaxies
tend to settle along these threads, forming interconnected superclusters that
stretch out in maps not just of space, but of time itself.
Knowing dark matter lies
between visible galaxies on the cosmic web is one thing – actually seeing it is
something else.
The curves and dimples
that produces with the drifts of light caused effects of gravity.
The threads of dark matter
appear to be strongest between bunches of galaxies less than 40 million
light-years apart. Adding this resolution to existing maps could reveal a few
more enticing details about this mysterious form of matter and would tell us
how Universe evolved.
The astronomers were able
to use slight variations to build a relatively detailed map of the bridges of
otherwise invisible dark matter connecting them, by combining various images of
23,000 pairs of galaxies about 4.5 billion light-years away.
Epps said: "By using
this technique, we're not only able to see that these dark matter filaments in
the universe exist, we're able to see the extent to which these filaments
connect galaxies together."
Researcher Mike Hudson
said: "For decades, researchers have been predicting the existence of
dark-matter filaments between galaxies that act like a web-like superstructure
connecting galaxies together. This image moves us beyond predictions to
something we can see and measure."
It'll just make us picture
the Universe as a cosmic ball of sugar.
This research was
published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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