Missing Dark Matter
- Written by:
- Donna Weaver and
- Ray Villard
- Scientific consulting by:
- Pieter van Dokkum
- Produced by:
- Donna Weaver,
- Katrina Jackson, and
- Ray Villard
- View full credits
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Image Credits: NASA, ESA, and P. van Dokkum (Yale University)
Writers
- Donna Weaver (STScI) [Lead]
- Ray Villard (STScI) [Lead]
- Hannah Lobell (Experiential Learning Program, UMD)
Scientist
- Pieter van Dokkum (Yale University) [Lead]
Producers
- Donna Weaver (STScI) [Lead]
- Katrina Jackson (USRA) [Lead]
- Ray Villard (STScI) [Lead]
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Related pages
Mystery of Galaxy's Missing Dark Matter Deepens
June 17th, 2021
Read moreMaster VersionHorizontal version. This is for use on any YouTube or non-YouTube platform where you want to display the video horizontally. Vertical VersionThis vertical version of the episode is for IGTV or Snapchat. The IGTV episode can be pulled into Instagram Stories and the regular Instagram feed. When astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope uncovered an oddball galaxy that looks like it doesn’t have much dark matter, some thought the finding was hard to believe and looked for a simpler explanation. Dark matter, after all, is the invisible glue that makes up the bulk of the universe’s contents. All galaxies are dominated by it; in fact, galaxies are thought to form inside immense halos of dark matter. So, finding a galaxy lacking the invisible stuff is an extraordinary claim that challenges conventional wisdom. It would have the potential to upset theories of galaxy formation and evolution.For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble. Additional Visualizations:Galaxy Motion Simulation: Credit: ESO/L. Calçada.Dark Matter Simulation: Credit: Additional Visualizations:Galaxy Motion Simulation: Credit: ESO/L. Calçada.Dark Matter Simulation: Credit: Wu, Hahn, Wechsler, Abel(KIPAC), Visualization: Kaehler (KIPAC)Music Credits: "Aphelion Horizon" by Alistair Hetherington [PRS] via Atmosphere Music Ltd. [PRS], and Universal Production Music. Related pages
Hubble Makes Unexpected Dark Matter Discovery
Sept. 10th, 2020
Read moreMaster VersionHorizontal version. This is for use on any YouTube or non-YouTube platform where you want to display the video horizontally. Vertical VersionThis vertical version of the episode is for IGTV or Snapchat. The IGTV episode can be pulled into Instagram Stories and the regular Instagram feed. Astronomers seem to have revealed a puzzling detail in the way dark matter behaves. They found small, dense concentrations of dark matter that bend and magnify light much more strongly than expected.For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble.Visualizations and Additional Footage:ESA/Hubble — Gravitational Lensing AnimationESA/Hubble — Gravitational Lensing Simplified VisualizationR. Wesson/ESO — Very Large Telescope FootageMusic Credits:“On the Path” by Bernhard Hering [GEMA] and Matthias Kruger [GEMA] via Berlin Production Music/Universal Production Music GmbH [GEMA] Related pages
Untitled
June 2nd, 2016
Read moreThe universe is full of strange and surprising things. The Bubble Nebula is located 7,100 light-years away. This video zooms to its location in our Milky Way galaxy. Scientists estimate the nebula formed over 4 million years. This animation provides a look at its three-dimensional structure. The bright magenta spot in the center of this image is a star called BD+602522. The nebula's gas and dust are shaped by its fierce stellar winds. Although the star is blowing gas and dust outward in all directions, the nebula is actually growing off-center. A ground telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in the United States captured this image of the Bubble Nebula. Related pages
Untitled
April 23rd, 2015
Read moreThe Hubble Space Telescope celebrates 25 years of exploring the cosmos. Colors in this heavenly image of NGC 2818 represent ionized gases, including nitrogen (red), hydrogen (green) and oxygen (blue). Before Hubble, scientists could not make out the details of the delicate rings in the Hourglass Nebula. Scientists suspect that comet-like blobs with streaming tails give rise to the furry-looking outer layers of the Eskimo Nebula. The center of Red Rectangle is a pair of dying stars, orbiting one another in a dense disk of material that funnels dust and gas outward. Scientists believe a pair of stars might also be responsible for the multiple lobes of gas spewing from the center of the Ant Nebula. Related pages
Untitled
July 22nd, 2014
Read moreNASA's Hubble Space Telescope proves the universe is full of wonders. UGC 1810 is a spiral galaxy located 300 million light-years away. Its warped disc is likely the result of a collision with another galaxy. Trumpler 16 is a cluster of stars found within the Milky Way. The two largest stars above are more luminous than our sun. Particles emitted by stars help shape the magnificent clouds of gas and dust that form the Carina Nebula. M106 is a spiral galaxy about 23 million light-years from Earth. At its center is a supermassive black hole. The wings of the Butterfly Nebula span three light-years and are made up of gases released over two millennia by a dying star. Related pages
Hubble Views a Galaxy Lacking Dark Matter
March 28th, 2018
Read moreWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Music credit: "Reborn" by Maksim Tyutmanov [PRS] and Victoria Beits [PRS]; Atmosphere Music Ltd PRS; Score Addiction; Killer Tracks Production Music Instagram videoMusic credit: "Reborn" by Maksim Tyutmanov [PRS] and Victoria Beits [PRS]; Atmosphere Music Ltd PRS; Score Addiction; Killer Tracks Production Music NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took an image of a bizarre, ghostly looking galaxy called NGC 1052-DF2 that astronomers calculate to have little to no dark matter. This is the first galaxy astronomers have discovered to be so lacking in dark matter, which is thought to comprise 85% of our universe's mass.Read the full story at nasa.gov.Download the release images at HubbleSite.org.Find the science paper at nature.com. Related pages