Is there definitive proof that dark matter exists?

DW (English)

Everything we see is just a fraction of the universe. Most of it, including dark matter, remains invisible. What is it made of? That’s still a mystery. Our viewer Ernesto L. from Argentina had a question about that.

Transcript

00:00Is there solid proof that dark matter exists?

00:07Everything we see makes up only a small fraction of the universe.

00:14Scientists believe about 80% of all matter is something invisible.

00:19Dark matter.

00:21Astronomers suspect its existence because what we observe in space doesn't add up with visible matter alone.

00:29Light bending around galaxies is deflected more than expected, suggesting there's extra unseen mass influencing it.

00:38And if we only account for visible matter, the way stars orbit their galaxies doesn't make sense either.

00:45Something must be holding galaxies together, like an invisible glue.

00:50Dark matter.

00:52What it's made of is still a mystery.

00:59But we can measure its effects.

01:01Dark matter's gravity bends light, forcing it onto curved paths.

01:08Astronomers use this to their advantage.

01:13With sensitive telescopes, they analyze specific parts of outer space, tracking how light has traveled for billions of years.

01:21That helps them map dark matter's distribution.

01:24And with ever more precise data, that map keeps improving.

01:33Since February 2024, the European Space Telescope Euclid has been scanning the sky.

01:40Its mission is to chart dark matter's spread over the last 10 billion years with unprecedented accuracy.

01:49According to theory, dark matter shaped the structure of the universe.

01:53Where it condensed in certain areas, its gravity pulled in ordinary matter, forming stars, galaxies, and vast galaxy clusters.

02:07So far, our measurements of dark matter align with this idea.

02:15Computer simulations add another layer of indirect evidence.

02:19They compress billions of years into seconds, modeling how galaxies and galaxy clusters evolved.

02:26The results are clear.

02:28Without dark matter, the universe wouldn't look the way it does today.

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