Did you know that nearly 60% of the universe consists of dark matter that remains unseen by us? This is a much lesser known fact than astronomers think. How is it that astronomers have been unable to see what billions of solar-system distant planets contain? The reason is because it does not exist! Dark matter consists of mostly of very heavy (though not nearly as heavy as hydrogen) molecules which make up most of the space in space, and because of this astronomers cannot detect it with their telescopes.
astronomers can, however, observe and map the movement of this unseen mass in space through tracking its motion with satellites. One such project is the search of primordial black holes which may have existed in the universe before galaxies and stars were formed. Some scientists think that such primordial black holes may be responsible for creating some of the radiation we detect from space. It is also believed that these black holes are seed hosts for massive black holes which eventually become the cores of galaxies and other massive galaxies. These observations by satellites are helping astronomers to construe the structure of this “serpent” in great detail.
Astronomers use this technology because they can use it to study the relationship between dark matter and the formation of very heavy galaxies like our own Milky Way. They do this by tracking the motions of neutral and near-neutral gas which makes up about half of the gas in spiral galaxies. The motion of this so-called “Milky Way” masses can tell astronomers a lot about the properties of these dark holes and about the nature of the solar masses they contain. If correct, the results could imply that there are a number of satellite galaxies within our own Milky Way and may shed new light on the structure of these large, distant celestial bodies.
One of the major reasons why scientists are interested in studying primordial black holes is that their presence could mean that our universe is much more complex than previously thought. Although most cosmologists think that it only consists of neutral and cold gas, recent studies by astronomers have suggested that there may be another component present. This could mean that our solar system is not the only one out there; in fact, there may be many such systems in existence and adding them to our own could throw more light on the structure of the cosmos.
Another reason why dark matter has so far been ignored is that it absorbs most of the energy coming from the sun in return as heat. However, observations by satellites show that it does not give off infrared radiation, the other kind of radiation emitted by atoms, due to its very high density. This means that there must be something else in the mix. The lack of infrared radiation makes it difficult to study and therefore astronomers have to rely on other observations to make the connection between dark matter and the properties of ordinary matter.
The recent search for dark matter has turned up many surprises including the detection of ripples in space-time called gravitational waves. Although these are believed to be caused by colliding objects, new observations are suggesting a different scenario: There are times when two different types of matter meet and create waves that carry information between them. Since black holes are the only known objects that produce such waves, they are being studied closely to find out what they mean. If the presence of dark matter is confirmed, it will add another intriguing puzzle piece to our knowledge of the cosmos.
