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Astronomers map dark matter

Astronomers have created the most detailed map yet of the mysterious dark matter that fills much of the space between galaxies.

Dark matter accounts for almost all the mass of the universe, but because it does not emit or reflect radiation, it is impossible to observe directly. However, because it has mass, scientists can infer its presence by its gravitational effects on the normal matter surrounding it.

Meghan Gray, of the University of Nottingham, U.K., and Catherine Heymans, of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, led a team who stitched together 80 images made by the Hubble space telescope in 2006 of the Abell 901 and 902 supercluster of galaxies, which is 2.6 billion light years from the earth.

The map, unveiled on Thursday at the American Astronomical Society’s annual meeting in Texas, is 2.5 times sharper than a previous survey of the cluster performed by ground-based instruments. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

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