Date:
February 9, 2015
Source:
Stockholm University
Summary:
A new study is providing evidence for the presence of dark matter in the innermost part of the Milky Way, including in our own cosmic neighborhood and the Earth's location. The study demonstrates that large amounts of dark matter exist around us, and also between us and the Galactic center. The result constitutes a fundamental step forward in the quest for the nature of dark matter.
The rotation curve tracers used in the paper over a photo of the disc of the Milky Way as seen from the Southern Hemisphere. The tracers are colour-coded in blue or red according to their relative motion with respect to the Sun. The spherically symmetric blue halo illustrates the dark matter distribution.
Credit: Serge Brunier
A new study is providing evidence for the presence of dark matter in the innermost part of the Milky Way, including in our own cosmic neighbourhood and the Earth’s location. The study demonstrates that large amounts of dark matter exist around us, and also between us and the Galactic centre. The result constitutes a fundamental step forward in the quest for the nature of dark matter.