Dark Matter Observed: Most Direct Measurement of Dark Matter Allows Study of its Nature

Menlo Park, CA—Dark matter, the elusive stuff that makes up a quarter of the universe, has been seen in isolation for the first time. Marusa Bradac of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), located at the Department of Energy’s Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), and her colleagues made the landmark observations by studying a galaxy cluster 3 billion light years away.   "We had predicted the existence of dark matter for decades, but now we've seen it in action," said Bradac. "This is groundbreaking."   Dark matter is fundamentally different from normal matter. It is invisible using modern telescopes because it gives off no light or heat, and it appears to interact with other matter only gravitationally. In contrast, luminous matter is everything commonly associated with the universe: the galaxies, stars, gas and planets.   Für weitere Informationen: » home.slac.stanford.edu/pressreleases/2006/20060821.htm

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