An international group of astronomers has created the most detailed map of dark matter thanks to the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope.
This result was made possible by extended observations of a patch of the sky with Webb, which allowed capturing dark matter phenomena in exquisite detail.
“By detecting dark matter with unprecedented precision, our map shows how the invisible component of the Universe structured the visible matter to such an extent that it made possible the formation of galaxies, stars, and, ultimately, life itself. This map reveals the invisible but vital role of dark matter, the true architect of the Universe, which gradually organizes the structures we observe through our telescopes.”
– Gavin Leroy
Key findings and significance for science
The study emphasizes the role of dark matter as the architect of cosmic structures, influencing the evolution of normal matter and the formation of galaxies, stars, and even life.
The conclusions state that new data help better understand the interaction between dark and normal matter and open new horizons for studying their relationship on the scale of the Universe.
According to scientists, at the beginning of the Universe, dark matter and normal matter were distributed relatively evenly, after which dark matter began gathering normal matter and forming stars and galaxies.
The new map is based on James Webb data: the telescope observed a patch of sky for about 255 hours and recorded about 800,000 galaxies.
This development opens up new prospects in understanding dark matter and its role in shaping the large-scale structures of the Universe.