Dark Matter: The Hidden Mass of the Cosmos

  1. Dark matter makes up about 27% of the universe—but we can’t see it directly.
  2. It doesn’t emit, absorb, or reflect light, making it completely invisible to telescopes.
  3. Astronomers detect it through gravity—galaxies spin too fast to hold together without it.
  4. Dark matter halos act like invisible scaffolding, giving galaxies their shape and stability.
  5. Gravitational lensing, where light bends around unseen mass, offers proof of its presence.
  6. Unlike ordinary matter, dark matter interacts very weakly, if at all, with particles and radiation.
  7. It may consist of unknown particles such as WIMPs or axions—but none have been detected yet.
  8. The Bullet Cluster collision provides some of the strongest evidence separating dark from visible matter.
  9. Without dark matter, galaxies, clusters, and the cosmic web would never have formed as we see them.
  10. Solving the dark matter mystery could unlock one of the biggest secrets of the universe.