12 questions · 6 almanac · 0 findings

Dark Matter

The unseen mass inferred from gravitational effects.

Almanac Something You Could Finally Point To
  • What is the Bullet Cluster, and why was it ideal for studying dark matter?
  • How did X-ray and gravitational-lensing maps separate the location of ordinary matter from dark matter?
  • Why does the fact that dark matter passed through the collision unimpeded support its existence?
Almanac Ripples From Two Invisible Stones
  • How did astronomers detect a ring-shaped structure of dark matter using gravitational lensing?
  • Why did the dark matter form a ring shape during the collision of the two galaxy clusters?
  • How did Fritz Zwicky's original evidence for dark matter differ from this 2007 detection?
Almanac A Universe Mapped, a Planet Found
  • What theoretical framework did James Peebles build to explain dark matter, dark energy, and the cosmic microwave background?
Almanac Denser Than the Limit Allowed
  • What is the Greenwald limit, and why does exceeding it usually destabilize plasma confinement?
  • Why does exceeding the Greenwald limit matter for making fusion power plants economically viable?
Almanac Eleven Thousand Rocks, Newly Named
  • What is the Vera Rubin Observatory designed to do differently from previous sky surveys?
  • What is the Solar System Census, and why does its pace matter for planetary defense or discovery?