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Astronomers have recently made a startling discovery that essentially contradicts everything they originally knew about galaxies. This new discovery is that of a galaxy that is completely devoid of dark matter. This would have previously been considered completely unrealistic as dark matter is a type of matter that does not interact with any light and it actually makes up the majority of the existing matter within the universe. Visible matter which we are all familiar with as it consists of humans, plants, animals, stars, galaxies, and everything else we can see surprisingly makes up a significantly small portion of the universe. Scientists and researchers have concluded that the majority of the universe is actually made up of dark matter which raises the question of what happened to this devoid galaxy? In all actuality, astronomers are still trying to come up with an answer to their own questions. After over 40 hours of live detailed observations of this ultra-diffuse dwarf galaxy, which is 244 million light-years away from earth, they were able to confirm that it simply does not have any dark matter. Simply put, it does not have a definite answer because it goes against what was once considered a fact.
There is much confusion when it comes to differentiating between dark matter and dark energy. Approximately 95% of the entire universe is made up of dark energy and dark matter combined, whereas ordinary matter or visible matter makes up the remaining roughly 5%. Dark matter is not classified as ‘visible matter’ because one cannot see it. Dark matter is self-explanatory as it is a type of matter and scientists speculate its existence because of their calculations of rotations of galaxies. Technically based on rotational speed, a massive object like a star should not abide by the laws of gravity, but they do, which suggests that there has to be another form of invisible matter that keeps everything gravitationally bound. Dark energy is a monster within itself as scientists barely know anything factual about it. In the 90s it was discovered that not only is the universe expanding but it is actually expanding at a faster rate over time which strongly indicates there must be this enigmatic force that is causing the accelerating expansion of the universe. Simply put, dark matter is a matter that tries to keep objects gravitationally bound; whereas dark energy is almost the opposite, a force that's ripping everything apart. However, since they both makeup almost the entirety of the universe one could conclude that we know relatively nothing about it.
(Image from National Geographic)
Sources:
Dark energy and dark matter. Dark Energy and Dark Matter | Center for Astrophysics. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/research/topic/dark-energy-and-dark-matter#:~:text=We%20call%20that%20mysterious%20force,dark%20energy%20pushes%20them%20apart
This article is a great source of information and really established the similarities and differences between dark energy and matter. It is thoroughly researched and simple enough to comprehend.
This video is thorough and is a great visual representation of what dark matter truly is and how it exists within our universe. It is highly informative and simultaneously entertaining.
Pultarova, T. (2021, December 7). This weird galaxy is missing all of its dark matter and scientists can't explain it. Space.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.space.com/dark-matter-missing-from-galaxy
This article really does a fabulous job of going into depth on the subject matter. It emphasizes why the fact that the existence of a galaxy devoid of dark matter is so inexplicable and would have been classified as impossible beforehand.
This website includes the answers to many basic questions about this galaxy. These include, what it is, how it was discovered, and why it is important.
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