Astronomers may have finally detected dark matter.
COME AND FOLLOW THE LAUNCH OF MISSION ARTEMIS II, LIVE FROM CAPE CANAVERAL WITH SPACE TODAY!!! RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW!!! https://www.viagemcomsacani.com.br/ma... GUARANTEE THE BEST AI BLACK FRIDAY EVER! REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE LINK ON NOVEMBER 28TH AND PURCHASE MYHUB.IA, A SET OF 10 OF THE MOST POWERFUL AIs OF ALL TIME FOR A RIDICULOUS PRICE!!! https://pc.faculdadehub.com.br/myhubia/ In the early 1930s, Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky observed galaxies in space moving faster than their mass would allow, leading him to infer the presence of a kind of invisible structure—dark matter—holding the galaxies together. Almost 100 years later, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope may have provided direct evidence of dark matter, allowing this invisible matter to be "seen" for the first time. Dark matter has remained a great mystery since it was proposed so many years ago. To date, scientists have only been able to observe dark matter indirectly, through its effects on observable matter, such as its ability to generate enough gravitational force to hold galaxies together. The reason dark matter cannot be observed directly is that the particles that compose it do not interact with the electromagnetic force—that is, dark matter does not absorb, reflect, or emit light. There are numerous theories, but many researchers hypothesize that dark matter is composed of something called weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs, which are heavier than protons but interact very little with other matter. Despite this lack of interaction, it is predicted that when two WIMPs collide, the two particles will annihilate each other and release other particles, including gamma-ray photons. For years, researchers have been conducting astronomical observations in regions where dark matter is concentrated, such as the center of the Milky Way, in search of these specific gamma rays. Using the latest data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, Professor Tomonori Totani, from the Department of Astronomy at the University of Tokyo, believes he has finally detected the specific gamma rays predicted by the annihilation of theoretical dark matter particles. Totani's study was published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. "We detected gamma rays with a photon energy of 20 gigaelectronvolts (or 20 billion electronvolts, an extremely large amount of energy) extending in a halo-like structure toward the center of the Milky Way. The gamma-ray emission component closely matches the expected shape of the dark matter halo," said Totani. The observed energy spectrum, or range of gamma-ray emission intensities, corresponds to the predicted emission from the annihilation of hypothetical WIMPs, with a mass approximately 500 times greater than that of a proton. The annihilation frequency of WIMPs estimated from the measured gamma-ray intensity is also within the range of theoretical predictions. It is important to emphasize that these gamma-ray measurements are not easily explained by other more common astronomical phenomena or by gamma-ray emissions. Therefore, Totani considers this data a strong indication of gamma-ray emission originating from dark matter, something that has been sought for many years. "If this is correct, as far as I know, it would be the first time humanity has 'seen' dark matter. And it turns out that dark matter is a new particle not included in the current standard model of particle physics. This represents a major advance in astronomy and physics," said Totani. SOURCE: arxiv.org/pdf/2507.07209 https://phys.org/news/2025-11-years-s... #DARKMATTER #UNIVERSE #ASTRONOMY PRESENTATION: Sérgio Sacani • X: @spacetoday1 • Instagram: @spacetoday1 MARKETING & CONTENT: Beattriz Gonçalves • Instagram: @soubiagoncalves • LinkedIn: /in/beattrizgoncalves PRODUCTION: Gabriela Augusta • Instagram: @gabiaugusta_ EDITING: Alexandre Ziolkowski • Instagram: @thealexandrez PHOTOGRAPHY: Caroline Oliveira • Instagram: @carolineoliveirafotos
