NASA unveils most detailed dark matter map to date

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it has obtained new details about the effect of dark matter on the universe.

Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA scientists have created one of the most detailed and highest-resolution maps of dark matter ever produced, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

According to a paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the map shows how the invisible, ghost-like matter overlaps and intertwines with stars, galaxies, and the “normal” matter that makes up everything we can see.

In their statement published in the journal, NASA scientists said: “This is the largest dark matter map we have made with Webb, and it is twice as sharp as any dark matter map made by other observatories.”

The statement noted that while dark matter had previously been seen only in a “blurry” way, “Webb’s incredible resolution” has now revealed the universe’s invisible skeleton in great detail.

Quoted in the article, Massey and JPL astrophysicist Jason Rhodes said: “This map provides stronger evidence that without dark matter, we might not have the ingredients that allowed life to emerge in our galaxy.”

Dark matter map previously made in 2007

A dark matter map located in the constellation Sextans was created in 2007 using data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, as part of a project led by Rhodes.

Scientists believe that after the universe began to form, dark matter started clustering first, and these dark matter concentrations later pulled normal matter together, creating regions with enough material for stars and galaxies to form.