Summary
A NASA telescope has possibly found dark matter, an elusive substance that scientists have been trying to identify for nearly a century. Researchers from the University of Tokyo used data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to find gamma rays that could indicate the presence of dark matter at the center of the Milky Way.
Key Facts
- Dark matter is a substance believed to hold galaxies together but it cannot be directly seen or measured.
- A NASA telescope called the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected gamma rays possibly linked to dark matter.
- The gamma rays observed match predictions of how dark matter particles might behave when they collide and annihilate each other.
- Researchers focused on a region called the halo of the Milky Way, which was less studied before.
- The detection of gamma rays supports the theory that dark matter may be "WIMPS," or Weakly Interacting Massive Particles.
- The discovery may lead to identifying a new elementary particle not in the current physics model.
- Scientists need additional data and independent verification to confirm these findings.
