Dark Matter, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2012

Giant Strand of Elusive Dark Matter Seen in 3D

Astronomers have taken their first 3D look at a gigantic filament of dark matter, an invisible cosmic structure that can only be detected by its gravitational effects it has on its surroundings. The universe is thought to be structured like a tangled web, with long strings of mostly dark matter...

Jul 31, 2012

Invisible Dark Matter Likely Bountiful Near Sun

The area around our sun is probably rife with dark matter, the pervasive invisible stuff that populates the universe, a new study suggests. Dark matter is thought to be all around us, making up a large fraction of the mass in the universe. Yet whatever particles compose dark matter interact...

Jun 30, 2012

Giant Dark Matter Bridge Between Galaxy Clusters Discovered

A giant string of invisible dark matter has been discovered across the universe between a pair of galaxy clusters. The filament forms a bridge between two huge clusters called Abell 222 and Abell 223, which lie 2.7 billion light-years away. The universe is thought to be filled with such strings...

Jun 10, 2013

'Dark Matter' of Life: Mysterious Bacteria Captured

The genome of mysterious bacteria that lurk in hospital drains has been sequenced. Low levels of the bacteria, known only as candidate phylum TM6, have been found in water systems around the world, yet because they could not be cultured in the lab, almost nothing was known about them. The...

Jun 10, 2013

New Kind of Dark Matter Could Form 'Dark Atoms'

The mysterious dark matter that makes up most of the matter in the universe could be composed, in part, of invisible and nearly intangible counterparts of atoms, protons and electrons, researchers say. Dark matter is an invisible substance thought to make up five-sixths of all matter in the universe. Scientists...

Oct 30, 2013

Dark Matter Eludes Scientists in 1st Results from Super-Sensitive Detector

A new experiment buried deep underground has proven itself to be the most sensitive dark-matter detector ever built. But the first results from the high-tech instrument have turned up empty in its search for elusive dark matter, scientists announced today (Oct. 30). Housed 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) underground in the...

Dec 9, 2013

Elusive Dark Matter May Have Already Been Found

The mysterious dark matter that makes up most of the matter in the universe may already have been detected with superconducting circuits, researchers say. Dark matter is currently one of the greatest mysteries in the cosmos — an invisible substance thought to make up five-sixths of all matter in the...

Jan 22, 2014

Dark Matter Mystery Could Be Solved in Next 10 Years

Updated at 8:54 a.m. ET. Dark matter — the mysterious stuff that is thought to make up most of the matter in the known universe — may reveal itself during the next decade, one prominent scientist predicts. When the moment comes, it will result in a pivotal paradigm shift in...

Jan 30, 2014

To Date, Particle Supercollider Detects No Evidence Of Dark Matter

(ISNS) -- Dark matter is currently one of the greatest mysteries in the universe. Now, scientists reveal that the most powerful particle collider in the world has unearthed no signs of the hypothesized dark matter, placing new limits on what it could be. Dark matter is hypothesized to be an...

Feb 14, 2014

Dark-Matter Detector to Begin Operations Soon in China

China is entering the race to detect mysterious dark matter in a big way, with a huge facility in Sichuan province set to begin collecting data in the coming weeks. The $8 million PandaX (Particle and Astrophysical Xenon) experiment — which lies 7,874 feet (2,400 meters) underground, inside a mountain...

Apr 19, 2014

Searching High and Low for Dark Matter (Q+A)

Bruce Lieberman is a freelance science writer based in San Diego, Calif. He frequently writes about astrophysics for The Kavli Foundation and has also written for Air & Space Magazine, Sky & Telescope, Scientific American and other media outlets. He contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights...

May 2, 2014

Exotic Particles May Hold Clues to Mysterious Dark Matter

Dark matter makes up about 80 percent of the universe's mass, but scientists still don't know what the strange stuff is. Scientists have proposed a number of particles as candidate components of mysterious dark matter, which is so named because it apparently neither emits nor absorbs light. The hunt is...

May 22, 2014

Report: New Physics Should Hunt Dark Matter & Energy

The U.S. particle physics community should build atom smashers and giant telescopes to further discoveries related to the Higgs boson particle, learn more about the mass of ghostly, chargeless particles known as neutrinos, search for dark matter and dark energy and hunt for new particles, according to a new report....

Sep 19, 2014

Hints of Mysterious Dark Matter Revealed by Cosmic Rays

A particle detector floating 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth has analyzed 41 billion cosmic-ray particles, and the data have revealed new insights into the mysterious and invisible dark matter that physicists believe makes up 27 percent of the universe. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) detector aboard the International Space...

Nov 13, 2014

Not Particles, But Chunks: Dark Matter Gets Stranger

Dark matter may not be made of tiny particles as most scientists believe, but instead may consist of large chunks of strange matter anywhere from the size of an apple to an asteroid, researchers said. Currently one of the greatest mysteries in science, the invisible substance called dark matter is...