The experiment takes place at about one 10,000th of a degree above absolute zero in a special refrigerator; Dr Autti (right). Credit: Lancaster University One of science’s greatest mysteries may be one step closer to being solved. About 80% of the matter in the universe is dark, meaning it can’t be seen. In fact, dark … Read more
Time: It bends and curves, or appears to speed up or slow down, depending on your position or perception. So precisely measuring its passage is one of the most fundamental tasks in physics—and could help us land on Mars or even observe dark matter. Now, physicists from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology … Read more
Researchers at the University of Nottingham have developed a new method using a 3D-printed vacuum system to detect dark matter and potentially reveal the nature of dark energy. The system manipulates the gas density and uses ultracold lithium atoms to probe the effects of scalar fields, with the aim of observing domain walls: defects formed … Read more
Diagram of H3+ production in Jupiter. Aurora H3+ emission near the magnetic poles is caused by precipitating electrons, and extreme UV radiation from the sun irradiates the day side and dominates H3+ production near the equator. No significant H3+ is expected at low latitudes on the nightside, making it an ideal DM signal area. Credit: … Read more
In this artist’s impression, the galactic disk warp “dances gracefully” under the torsion of the dark matter halo. Credit: Hou Kaiyuan and Dong Zhanxun of the School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University An international team has developed a “motion-picture” method to measure the precession rate of the Milky Way’s disk curvature. Using a sample … Read more
“We eat for value, not pleasure,” Sarah Bowmer tells me when we meet on the high street in her hometown of Bakewell, Derbyshire. It’s a sunny day and tourists have flocked to this picturesque market town in the heart of the Peak District. Day trippers browse the gift shop and queues form to buy the … Read more
Stars near the center of our galaxy could be forever fueled by dark matter, according to a team of astronomers who recently studied the distant light sources. Florida family sues NASA over home damaged by space debris The group of stars, known as S-cluster stars, are located just three light-years from the center of the … Read more
“All good things must come to an end.” That saying applies both in the cosmos and on Earth. We know that stars, like everything else, must die. When they run out of the fuel needed for nuclear fusion in their cores, stars of all sizes collapse under their own gravity and die, forming a dense … Read more
A galaxy floating next to our own some 380,000 light-years from Earth could provide new clues in the 90-year search for the nature of dark matter, the invisible glue that holds galaxies together. This mysterious substance accounts for more than 80% of the mass of the universe, but has not yet been directly observed. Scientists … Read more
A galaxy orbiting next to our own about 380,000 light-years from Earth could provide new clues in the 90-year search for the nature of dark matter, the invisible glue that holds galaxies together. The mysterious substance is responsible for more than 80% of the universe’s mass, but has yet to be directly detected. Scientists say … Read more