Scientists recently discovered 12 stellar streams that haven't been seen before, which are also described as sparkly, pulverized remains of ancient dwarf galaxies, as were clusters of stars revolving around the Milky Way.
As specified in a CNET report, examining dark matter is complicated. In fact, the most ideal way to think about such a phenomenon is as a "transparent matter." Seemingly, it cannot be seen, not to mention, it does not interact with light. Therefore, dark matter is essentially invisible to humans.
However, scientists have not given up on the challenge. To date, they have come up with many unique strategies to reveal the intangible object, as well as theories to better explain it.
More so, in a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, a team of experts added numerous new tools to the arsenal of the dark matter quest.
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A tent is seen between trees as the Milky Way appears in the sky in the Uruguayan countryside some 185 km north of Montevideo near Capilla del Sauce, Florida Department.
Home Galaxy Feasting on 'Well-Placed Buffets'
For a long time now, the gravitational pull of the Milky Way has been disrupting such river-like paths of structures and ultimately forcing them to integrate with it.
Meaning, the home galaxy has been feasting on nearby "cosmic cul-de-sacs" as though they are "well-placed buffets."
Additionally, according to Professor Ting Li, from the University of Toronto, as the galaxy gets older, "it is getting fatter." Li, also the lead author of the paper published in Astrophysical Journal, said in a statement, this offers a snapshot of the feeding habits of the Milky Way, such as what type of tinier stellar system it's eating.
Essentially, stellar streams provide a roundabout way of developing information on the hidden building blocks of the universe by offering adjacent clues.
For example, astronomers can gauge the orbital speed of the streams, as well as their chemical composition, shape, and rotation trajectory to find out what is not present.
Dark Matter Like a Christmas Tree
Professor Geraint Lewis, at the University of Sydney, compared the phenomenon to a Christmas tree. Lewis, also the author of the paper elaborated that, on a dark night, Christmas lights are not seen, although not the tree the lights wrap around.
However, the lights' shape shows the tree's shape. Similar to the stellar streams, their orbits expose the dark matter.
Such logic is appropriate as the only reason dark matter is even known and dark energy exists is because of a sort of indirect reasoning.
The reasoning is that, based on the calculations of scientists, all the normal matter of the universe cannot explain the manner most galaxies are held together and all the normal energy of the universe cannot account for its nonstop expansion.
The Missing Piece
This missing piece of the expansion is called "puzzle dark energy," and dark matter for the structure puzzle. The experts said, the more stellar streams they can find, the nearer they may be to understanding the nature of the mysterious side of the universe.
This is part of the reason, according to a University of Chicago News report, Li and collaborators started a program dubbed the "Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey," to commit themselves to discover as many as possible.
Accompanied by data from the European Gaia mission, with the objective of charging an "ambitious 3D map of the galaxy," that is how the experts discovered the new promising astronomical streams.
Li also explained stellar streams may prove crucial in finding out how the Milky Way occurred in the first place, following the Big Bang. For him, said Li, this is one of the most intriguing questions, the one about "our ultimate origins."
Related information about the discovery of dark matter is shown on NOVA PBS Official's YouTube video below:
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