Astronomers may be getting closer to discovering as-yet hidden cosmic secrets, such as the nature of dark matter and the presence of widespread distortions in space-time, researchers reported at the 237th American Astronomical meeting.
The existence of dark matter, an the invisible substance thought to make up more than four-fifths of all matter in the universe, may help explain a variety of cosmic puzzles, such as how galaxies can spin as fast as they do without getting ripped apart. However, much about the nature of dark matter.
To help pinpoint dark matter's properties, researchers sought to directly measure the gravitational effects that dark matter should have on the speed at which stars are moving in the milky way
hey focused on galactic lighthouses known as pulsars, or spinning neutron stars that emit twin beams of radio waves from their magnetic poles as they rotate. (Neutron stars are the remains of large stars that perished in catastrophic explosions known as supernovas.)