Science Matters

Dark Matter

Estimated to constitute from 22% to 24% of the total matter in the universe, the existence of dark matter is inferred from its gravitational effects on visible matter. It may be composed of certain types of baryonic matter (ordinary matter which emits little or no electromagnetic radiation), nonbaryonic matter (axions) or supersymmetric particles (neutrinos).

Dark Energy

The universe is expanding, and it is expanding at an accelerating rate. It may be expanding due to dark energy. So, what is dark energy? One theory on the nature of dark energy is that it is a new kind of dynamical energy or field, filling all of space, having the opposite effect on the expansion of the Universe that ordinary matter and energy have.

Black Holes

Black Holes, they’re out there! If we could squeeze the earth down to the size of a marble the force of gravity would be so great that not even a beam of light could escape. The earth would become a black hole. Black holes form when massive stars die. We can detect black holes by observing their gravitational influence on objects near them or by observing matter falling into them. When an object falls into a black hole, some of its energy is liberated, which we can see in X-rays.