Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to dissect one of the largest structures in the Universe as part of a quest to understand the violent lives of galaxies. Hubble is providing indirect evidence of unseen dark matter tugging on galaxies in the crowded, rough-and-tumble environment of a massive supercluster of hundreds of galaxies. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

Astronomers have glimpsed the largest cluster of galaxies ever seen in the distant, early universe. The discovery of this far-off group, estimated to contain as much mass as a thousand large galaxies, offers further proof of the existence of the enigmatic force called dark energy. picked by AutumnLotus 2 weeks ago

Small, ultrafaint "hobbit" galaxies recently found hovering around our Milky Way are comprised almost entirely of dark matter, a new study confirms. Dark matter is a mysterious substance scientists think accounts for most of the mass in the universe but that is invisible to current instruments. picked by AutumnLotus 12 months ago

Galaxies today are struggling to clump together against the incredible repulsive power of dark energy, hints a new survey of thousands of galaxies. Measuring this anti-clumping effect puts a new arrow in the quiver of cosmologists seeking to uncover the nature of the mysterious force. picked by deepchill 7 months ago

About 70 percent is dark energy, and around 22 percent of the universe is made up of dark matter. Dark matter makes up a substantial part of the universe. Knowing what it is would answer a crucial question about the universe as a whole. picked by braveheart 2 years ago

Distant ­supernovas (bright dots), captured by NASA’s Hubble telescope, open new vistas into the expansion history of the early universe. As early as 9 billion years ago, a mysterious repulsive force known as dark energy is seen exerting its influence.Even weirder than dark matter—the invisible stuff constituting most of the mass of the universe—is dark energy, a myst... read full post picked by rambler 1 year ago

Stars in dwarf spheroidal galaxies behave in a way that suggests the galaxies are utterly dominated by dark matter. Mario Mateo and Matthew Walker measured the velocity of 6,804 stars in seven dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way: Carina, Draco, Fornax, Leo I, Leo II, Sculptor and Sextans. They found that, contrary to what Newton's law of gravity predicts, stars in these galaxies do not move ... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 11 months ago

The identity of the mysterious dark matter thought to pervade the universe has eluded astrophysicists for decades. Now, for the first time a team hopes to look inside the sun for one of the prime candidates. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

Astronomers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have discovered a new cluster of galaxies, hidden behind a previously identified cluster of galaxies. The recently exposed cosmic giant is apparently just as bright as the first group, but is six times further away. The astronomers made the discovery as part of an international team using the space telescope XMM-Newton. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

A team of astronomers looking at the universe’s distant past found nine young, unusually compact galaxies, each weighing in at 200 billion times the mass of the Sun.

These young galaxies are the equivalent of a human baby that is 20 inches long, yet weighs 180 pounds. picked by AutumnLotus 4 months ago

Astronomers have used ESO’s Very Large Telescope to measure the distribution and motions of thousands of galaxies in the distant Universe. This opens fascinating perspectives to better understand what drives the acceleration of the cosmic expansion and sheds new light on the mysterious dark energy that is thought to permeate the Universe. picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

Astronomers have produced a scientific gold mine of detailed, high-quality images of nearby galaxies that is yielding important new insights into many aspects of galaxies, including their complex structures, how they form stars, the motions of gas in the galaxies, the relationship of "normal" matter to unseen "dark matter," and many others. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

Astronomers have found an enormous hole in the Universe, nearly a billion light-years across, empty of both normal matter such as stars, galaxies, and gas, and the mysterious, unseen "dark matter." While earlier studies have shown holes, or voids, in the large-scale structure of the Universe, this new discovery dwarfs them all. picked by 2manyusernames 1 year ago

Two Canadian astronomers think there is a good reason dark matter, a mysterious substance thought to make up the bulk of matter in the universe, has never been directly detected: It doesn't exist. picked by AutumnLotus 10 months ago

Two galaxy clusters collided with each other. The image gathered from visible light as well as the way that gravity effected the light provides striking evidence for dark matter and insight into its properties. More in depth info here in pdf form picked by 2manyusernames 1 week ago

In a cosmic battle of sorts taking place in the centers of galaxies, stellar forces muscle up and kick out brewing invisible matter. The result, finds a new study, evens out the amount of invisible matter held in galactic cores, resolving a cosmological puzzle. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

When we think of a galaxy, we think of our own Milky Way or perhaps Andromeda...not invisible, starless blobs. picked by Neiako 2 years ago

It's the experiment dark matter hunters love to hate. But physicists working on the DAMA (DArk MAtter) experiment might have the last laugh later this week. Rumour has it that, later this week, an Italian lab will claim to have found dark matter, at a conference in Venice, Italy. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

Our universe is a mess — a colossal "cosmic web" of galaxies strung into filaments and tendrils that are millions or billions of light-years long. Although this web's basic structure is resolved, astronomers say understanding it in more detail requires new observatories, better computing and a lot of luck. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

UK astronomers have developed the most sensitive infrared map of the distant universe ever produced, revealing the origins of the most massive galaxies in the cosmos. Using images obtained with the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT), astronomers combined data over a period of three years. This produced a map encompassing more than 100,000 galaxies over an area of sky four times the size of... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago