Jan04
Where to look to see dark matter
A massive computer simulation of the way galaxies form has revealed where exactly in the galaxy we should look to finally ‘see’ dark matter.
And it may be only a few years before astronomers first directly detect the mysterious substance, according to the research published in the British journal Nature today.
Dark matter makes up 85 per cent of matter in the universe. It pervades the Milky Way and forms massive haloes around our own galaxy and the smaller satellite galaxies surrounding it. So far its presence has only been indirectly inferred from its gravitational effects.
3.5 million computing hours
However, if particle collisions within dark matter give off gamma rays, under the right conditions the gamma rays should be detectable by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, launched in June 2008.
The researchers from the international Virgo Consortium’s Aquarius Project used a computer simulation that took over 3.5 million computing hours create a virtual universe in order to find the best place to look for these gamma-ray signals.
Source: Cosmos Online – click here for full article
