dark matter

A slice of the COSMOS-Web map, showing galaxies across nearly 14 billion years of the universe's history. The vertex on the left indicates the current time; moving outward, each galaxy is located at its own distance in cosmic time, until you reach a time when the universe was less than a billion years old. Light yellow areas show the dense clusters and filaments of the cosmic web, and dark areas indicate the nearly empty spaces between them. Credit: Hossein Hatamnia, UC Riverside

James Webb Space Telescope reveals sharpest map of the cosmic web

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The COSMOS-Web survey, the largest survey ever conducted with the James Webb Space Telescope, allows astronomers to track galaxies within nebulae, clusters, and cosmic voids across nearly 13.7 billion years of history.
Cosmic rays are composed mainly of protons, but also of helium, carbon, oxygen, and iron nuclei. Credit: Chinese Academy of Science

After a century, scientists discover a hidden rule governing cosmic rays

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A long-standing cosmic mystery is beginning to yield new clues as researchers discover a strikingly consistent pattern in the behavior of high-energy particles moving through the universe.
A thin slice of the map created by DESI's five-year survey shows galaxies and quasars above and below the plane of the Milky Way. Credit: Claire Lamman/DESI collaboration

The largest 3D map of the universe has been completed and will help study dark energy

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A record-breaking 3D map of the universe has been completed, giving scientists a new way to study dark energy. The vast data could reveal surprising changes in how the universe is expanding.
The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a nearby dwarf galaxy and one of the Milky Way's closest neighbors. Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, and the University of Potsdam, JPL-Caltech, and STScI

Collision between Magellanic Clouds may explain dwarf galaxy's unusual motion

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New research suggests that the Small Magellanic Cloud passed through the disk of the Large Magellanic Cloud several hundred million years ago. The collision disrupted the motion of stars and gas, and may require a reexamination of
The experimental equipment built and used by the students. Credit: Nabil Salama and Agit Akgümüs

Students built a dark matter detector and set new experimental boundaries

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A compact experiment at the University of Hamburg searched for axions, one of the main candidates for dark matter, and showed that even small arrays can contribute to particle physics.
The motion of galaxy clusters reveals the strength of gravity on a scale of hundreds of millions of light years. Credit: Lucy Reading / Simons Foundation

Newton's law of gravity faces unprecedented cosmic test

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Weak gravitational waves from the early universe may hint at how dark matter first formed. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Gravitational waves from the early universe may have created dark matter

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A new paper suggests that a weak background of stochastic gravitational waves from the early universe created low-mass particles that may have later become the dark matter that shapes galaxies and large cosmic structures.
Dark matter. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The mystery deepens: New model suggests dark matter is not made up of one type of particle

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A study published in Science Bulletin suggests that self-interacting two-component dark matter could explain both the sparse cores of dwarf galaxies and the dense gravitational lensing structures observed in the universe.
Sunset, just before the Vera Rubin Telescope begins nighttime operations. Photo courtesy of NSF

The Rubin Observatory's giant camera is underway, and its goal is: "To answer one question - what is the universe?"

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The Vera Rubin Observatory has begun publishing its first discoveries – supernovae, variable stars and asteroids – ahead of the launch of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a ten-year sky survey.
In the low-luminosity galaxy CDG-2, within the dashed red circle on the right, dark matter is dominant and contains only a sparse scattering of stars. Left: The full Hubble image. Credit: NASA, ESA, Dayi Li (UToronto); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

A "ghost galaxy" composed of 99% dark matter has been discovered 300 million light-years away

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Astronomers identified the galaxy CDG-2 in the Perseus cluster using only four globular clusters and observations from the Hubble and Euclid Space Telescopes and the Subroutine Observatory in Hawaii.
The spiral galaxy Andromeda. Almost a duplicate of the Milky Way. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Why nearby galaxies are running away from us: Scientists have finally solved a fifty-year-old mystery

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An international team has built a “virtual twin” of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy environment and found that a flattened mass distribution, with large voids above and below, balances gravity and resolves a mystery that has been debated since the days of Edwin Hubble.
A gravitational lens distorts objects behind it. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Mysterious object challenges simple models of dark matter

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An unusual observational case: an object with a mass of a million solar masses, which has no clear “parallel” among known objects, may be the result of a collision between different types of dark matter
Vera Rubin with old globes. Credit: Photograph by Mark Godfrey, courtesy AIP Emilio Segre Visual Archives. From Wikimedia

Vera Rubin, the Jewish-American astronomer who inspired NVIDIA's new platform?

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At CES 2026, NVIDIA introduced a new generation of data centers; the choice of name is a tribute to a scientist whose measurements provided crucial evidence for the existence of dark matter
A gravitational lens distorts objects behind it. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Mysterious object challenges accepted dark matter models

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Gravitational lensing analysis points to a body “the size of a million suns” with a structure unlike any known object – and may hint that dark matter is not as “smooth” as we thought
Image of the expansion of the universe created by artificial intelligence. Credit: ZARM, Universität Bremen (AI generated)

What if dark energy doesn't exist? New theory could rewrite the expansion of the universe

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Researchers suggest that the accelerating expansion of the universe could be due to the geometry of space-time and the extension of the theory of gravity – without adding a “mysterious element” to the equations to match observations
The world in 2050. Illustration: Avi Blizovsky via DALEE.

The journal "Nature" looks to 2050: Nuclear fusion, Mars, and "lightless" laboratories – and it all depends on politics

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The prestigious journal marks the decisive junctures: the climate crisis and the response to it, the race for artificial intelligence infrastructure, questions of public trust and science funding, and the ability to transform breakthroughs into systems that work at scale.
Dark matter distorts space-time. Illustration: depositphotos.com

New code allows simulation of the “hidden life” of dark matter within galactic halos

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Researchers at the Perimeter Institute have developed KiSS-SIDM, a computational tool that bridges intermediate regimes in a model of self-interacting dark matter, and may improve the understanding of core collapse and even the formation of black holes.
An illustration illustrating the rotation of neutral hydrogen (right) in galaxies located in an elongated galaxy (middle), with the galaxies showing a coherent overall rotational motion that follows the large-scale cosmic fabric (left).

One of the largest rotating structures ever seen: a giant cosmic filament where galaxies spin “in the same direction”

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Artist's impression of material spiraling inward, pulled by the strong gravity of a central supermassive black hole, forming an "accretion disk." Credit: Dimitrios Sakkas (tomakti), Antonis Georgakakis, Angel Ruiz, Maria Chira (NOA)

New observations: The relationship between UV and X-ray radiation in quasars has changed over cosmic time

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International research finds that the long-standing correlation between UV and X-ray emissions from quasars is not constant throughout the history of the universe – a hint that the structure of the accretion disk and “corona” around supermassive black holes is not universal
The gravitational lens of the pair of galaxies VV-191 in a joint photograph by Hubble and Webb. Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, Rogier Windhorst (ASU), William Keel (University of Alabama), Stuart Wyithe (University of Melbourne), JWST PEARLS Team, Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Measuring dark matter and seeing ancient stars

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Prof. Adi Citrin of Ben-Gurion University, using the Webb Space Telescope, maps dark matter in galaxy clusters and exploits the strong gravitational lenses created by the clusters to observe galaxies, massive black holes
The study investigates EMRIs (Extreme Mass Ratio Inward Spirals): systems in which a relatively small, compact body (for example, a black hole formed by the collapse of a single star) orbits and gradually moves inward toward a much more massive black hole, usually at the center of a galaxy. During this inward journey, the smaller body generates a continuous gravitational wave signal. Credit: ESA

Gravitational waves may reveal hidden dark matter around massive black holes

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A full relativistic model suggests that the signature of EMRIs - inward spirals of a small black hole into a supermassive black hole - will carry "fingerprints" of dark matter concentrations, which future detectors like LISA could measure.
Diagram: Space-based search for ultralight bosons and a prototype quantum sensor. Including a gas-vapor chamber, multilayer magnetic shielding, fiber-optic gyroscope, and radiation shielding box. Credit: Science China Press

Chinese scientists turn Earth into a giant quantum sensor to uncover new physics

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Orbital quantum sensing, spin-sensing, SQUIRE, exotic interactions, axion halos
The Big Bang Theory. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Study: “Cannibal Stars” and Primordial Black Holes Could Have Formed in the First Second After the Big Bang

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A cosmological model suggests that during a brief matter-dominant period immediately after inflation, halos of particles formed that gravitationally-thermally collapsed to form primordial black holes (PBHs), boson stars, and “cannibal stars” that prevent mutual annihilation of particles —
A globular cluster (a white cluster of stars) naturally appears in high-resolution EDGE images. Credit: University of Surrey, Matt Orkney, Andrew Pontzen & Ethan Taylor

New simulations reveal: This is how globular clusters are born – and perhaps a new type of star system. Solving a 400-year-old mystery

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An international team of researchers has successfully reconstructed the formation of ancient, dense globular clusters in the universe using computer simulations. The simulations have also revealed candidates for a new celestial body – “globular cluster dwarfs” – that may have been hidden for a long time.
The Exit from the Cosmic Dark Ages. Prof. Renen Barkana, Tel Aviv University

Radio wave measurements from the moon may reveal the secrets of dark matter

Tel Aviv University research suggests using antennas on the moon to measure signals from cosmic darkness – just 100 million years after the Big Bang – and reveal the nature of dark matter
SNSPD sensor. Credit: QROCODILE collaboration.

Breakthrough in the search for light dark matter: QROCODILE project sets new global boundaries

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An international collaboration led by the Hebrew University and the University of Zurich has developed a unique superconducting detector that has achieved record sensitivity in the search for light dark matter, opening a new horizon for particle physics.
Mysterious "dark dwarfs" can shine forever by burning dark matter – and finding them could solve one of the universe's greatest mysteries. a href="https://depositphotos.com. ">Illustration: depositphotos.com

The stars that don't burn – they destroy dark matter

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Astronomers propose the existence of "dark dwarfs" - objects powered by energy from dark matter particles that can shine forever. Their discovery could shed light on one of the universe's greatest mysteries.
An artist's illustration of the mechanism proposed by Professor Stefano Profumo, in which quantum effects near the rapidly expanding cosmic horizon after the Big Bang gravitationally create dark matter particles. Credit: Stefano Profumo

Two bold theories may finally explain dark matter

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Prof. Tomer Wolansky. Photo: Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv 360 Podcast: The Whole Truth About Dark Matter | Particle Physics

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Artist's impression of the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Milky Way may be surrounded by a hundred previously unobserved hidden galaxies

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Researchers at Durham University have predicted using advanced simulations that there are dozens of faint galaxies orbiting the Milky Way – and new telescopes may soon detect them.
A fluorite crystal containing atoms of the radioactive substance thorium-229, which was used to precisely measure the absorption spectrum of atomic nuclei at the PTB institute in Braunschweig, Germany. Previously, researchers had to capture several atomic nuclei in each experiment and test them with a single radiation frequency, which took a long time to achieve accurate measurements. The PTB measurement used a crystal in which about a quadrillion (a thousand trillion) atoms are embedded, allowing many tests to be performed simultaneously using precise laser beams. Credit: PTB

The dark side of time: A nuclear clock may reveal dark matter

A nuclear clock is the next big promise in measurement. Weizmann Institute of Science scientists have devised a method that allows us to harness tomorrow's technology to search for dark matter today.
An illustration of what a dark dwarf might look like. Credit: Sissa Medialab

Dark dwarfs lurk in the center of the galaxy – a clue to the nature of dark matter

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Researchers from the UK and Hawaii propose for the first time the existence of substellar objects powered by dark matter, which may shed light on one of the greatest mysteries in modern cosmology.
Our Possible Future: Three Scenarios for a Future Encounter Between the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies: Top Left: The two galaxies pass each other at a distance of a million light years. Top Right: As the distance between them decreases to 500 light years, the friction exerted by dark matter causes them to approach for a close encounter. Bottom: A distance of 100 light years leads to a collision. (Courtesy: NASA / ESA)

The Andromeda Galaxy may not collide with the Milky Way – contrary to what we thought

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A new study based on data from the Gaia spacecraft raises a possibility: the expected galactic collision may not occur at all, or at least be significantly delayed.
A galaxy surrounded by dark matter. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Were We Wrong About Dark Matter? Dwarf Galaxies Offer Surprising Clues

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New research reveals unusual clustering pattern in sparse dwarf galaxies – and may indicate that dark matter acts differently than we thought, perhaps even interacting with itself
The image shows diffuse gas (yellow to purple) contained within the cosmic filament connecting two galaxies (yellow stars), and extending over three million light-years. Credit: Davide Tornotti/University of Milano-Bicocca

Astronomers recently found a three-million-light-year connection between galaxies

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A new breakthrough in cosmic mapping has revealed the structure of a giant filament, part of a vast cosmic web that connects galaxies.
To mark the 100th anniversary of Edwin Hubble’s discovery of a Cepheid variable star, named V1, in the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, astronomers collaborated with the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) to study the star. AAVSO observers followed V1 for six months, creating a graph—or light curve—that records the star’s periodic rise and fall in brightness. Based on this data, the Hubble Space Telescope was scheduled to observe the star during its weakest and brightest hours. Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Project (STScI, AURA), Robert Gendler.

The star that proved the universe is bigger than we imagined

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A century ago, Edwin Hubble's discovery of the variable star V1 in the Andromeda Galaxy revealed a vast, expanding universe, becoming a turning point in our understanding of the cosmos.
A model of accretion on a disc-shaped galaxy. Color represents the temperature of the gas, and the black lines the flow lines of the gas, when it flows from the hot galactic surrounding medium (about a million degrees) to the galaxy where the gas is relatively cold (about 10,000 degrees). The right panel shows three streamlines in 170D, which highlight the swirling of the gas during the inflow. The top image is a Hubble Space Telescope image of a relatively nearby disk galaxy. Its diameter is about 21 thousand light years, and its distance from us is about XNUMX million light years.

on galactic dynamics

What can be learned from the shape of galaxies about the complex connections between different materials in the universe
A picture of the three red monsters taken by Webb. Credit: NASA/CSA/ESA, M. Xiao & PA Oesch (University of Geneva), G. Brammer (Niels Bohr Institute), Dawn JWST Archive

"Red monsters" from the cosmic dawn: discoveries that challenge models of galaxy formation

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The time travel of the James Webb Space Telescope. Photo: NASA

A bright surprise in the early universe: new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope

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Among the impressive achievements of the telescope is the detection of very early galaxies, which developed only about 300 million years after the Big Bang
This all-sky view is a layering of the Gaia star map from its second data release in 2018 and the Planck dust map from 2014. Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA; ESA/Gaia/DPAC; ESA/Planck Collaboration

Euclid's 'Dark Universe' telescope reveals stunning 208-gigapixel window into the cosmos

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Using gravitational insolation, the Euclid mission looks into the dark world, maps the distribution of dark matter and studies the expansion of the universe by observing billions of galaxies
An artist's illustration depicts a primordial black hole (left) speeding across the surface of Mars and causing a slight "tremor" in Mars' orbit (right), with the sun in the background. Scientists from MIT claim that such a tremor may be detectable with the instruments available today. Credit: Illustration by Benjamin Lehmann, used with SpaceEngine @ Cosmographic Software LLC.

Dark matter: primordial black holes and the mysterious wobble of Mars' orbit

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These holes, which are theoretical remnants of the early universe, may be detectable every decade as they pass through the solar system, offering a new way to study the elusive dark matter

Astronomers have discovered potential dark matter objects in space using pulsars

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These pulsars—neutron stars that rotate and emit beacon-like beams of radio waves that scan space—have been used to detect mysterious hidden masses.
Computer simulations made by astronomers, including those at the University of California at Irvine, support the existence of dark matter. Although dark matter has not been directly detected, many scientists believe it must exist to explain various phenomena in the observable universe.

Properties of galaxies reveal the invisible hand of dark matter

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Astronomical computer simulations point to strong evidence that dark matter exists, supported by observations of features in galaxies that are hard to explain without it
The Xenon top array detector array of the XENONnT partnership. PR photo

The international XENONnT experiment: first measurement of nuclear recoil from solar neutrinos

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Prof. Rani Bodnik from the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science is a partner in this research, and among other things built the control and calibration systems and took part in the data analysis
An illustration of gravity. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Could gravity exist without mass, thus reducing the need for the hypothetical dark matter

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Scientists say that circular systems of topological structural defects common throughout the universe may be the source of the "excess" gravity needed to hold a galaxy or cluster together.
The early universe immediately after the big bang, with a chaotic background of energy and particles. Small, dense black holes, some the size of an atom, are scattered throughout the image. These black holes are described with a "color charge" aura, symbolizing the unique property of quarks and gluons. Around the black holes is a cosmic landscape of quark-gluon plasma, with hints of the beginnings of proton and neutron formation. The image was prepared using DALEE and is not a scientific image

Exotic black holes may be a byproduct of dark matter

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Fifty years ago, physicist Stephen Hawking proposed that dark matter might be a population of black holes, which may have formed shortly after the Big Bang. They also existed for a short time but had an impact on
Infographic: the history of the universe. Credit: NASA

Artificial intelligence seeks to solve the dark energy problem

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This is according to the Dark Energy Survey Partnership, of which University College London is a founding member, hosts the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in the United States and includes more than 400 scientists from 25 institutions in 7 countries
Simulations of the unbalanced galaxy and dark matter dynamics. The image represents the galaxy, surrounded by dark matter particles, with an excess dense region behind it, regions in the background that symbolize empty and dense regions in the universe, and signs of the movement of the galaxy and the effect of dynamic friction. The image was prepared with the help of artificial intelligence for the purpose of illustration and should not be seen as a scientific image

Cracking the secrets of dark matter using warped galaxies

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Researchers measure the speed and mass of dark matter by studying warped galaxies affected by dynamic friction caused by dark matter
Harvard astronomers claim that the Milky Way's warped shape is due to an unbalanced halo of dark matter. This claim supports theories of a previous galactic collision and provides insights into the nature of dark matter. Credit: Stefan Payne-Wardenaar; Magellanic Clouds: Robert Gendler/ESO

Dark matter and galactic collisions: Harvard astronomers explain the mysterious curvature of the Milky Way

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The cause of this is a distorted dark matter halo
In Ellipse: The Dark Age of the Universe. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Radio waves from the moon will shed light on the early universe

About 50 million years after the big bang, we will be able to measure the evolution of the universe and its composition by measuring radio waves from the moon
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