HONG KONG: Scientists have been exploring dark matter for a long time now but while they may have been able to find some at the center of the galaxy as there is still much more to know.
A new study, though, continues to investigate the mysterious stuff and, it turns out, dark matter may not be quite as dark as we might have thought!
Postdoctoral researchers Jonathan Davis, with the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, explains “The basic idea [of our work] is quite simple: can you say that dark matter is perfectly dark?” He adds, “We want to put a number on how dark it is.”
The lead study author goes on to discuss, “We know dark matter exists around galaxies and we want to ask — if light from the galaxy can scatter off the dark matter, like a dust cloud, can you actually observe this light?”
Davis also discusses how the paper explores the idea that starlight trapped inside a galaxy can occasionally scatter dark matter away. And this creates a bit of a halo of light around the outside of the galaxy.
