NASA | JPL-Caltech | 2015 Nov 23
[img3="This illustration shows Earth surrounded by theoretical filamentsThe solar system might be a lot hairier than we thought.
of dark matter called "hairs." (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)"]http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/ima ... 176_ip.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]
A new study publishing this week in the Astrophysical Journal by Gary Prézeau of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, proposes the existence of long filaments of dark matter, or "hairs."
Dark matter is an invisible, mysterious substance that makes up about 27 percent of all matter and energy in the universe. The regular matter, which makes up everything we can see around us, is only 5 percent of the universe. The rest is dark energy, a strange phenomenon associated with the acceleration of our expanding universe.
Neither dark matter nor dark energy has ever been directly detected, although many experiments are trying to unlock the mysteries of dark matter, whether from deep underground or in space.
Based on many observations of its gravitational pull in action, scientists are certain that dark matter exists, and have measured how much of it there is in the universe to an accuracy of better than one percent. The leading theory is that dark matter is "cold," meaning it doesn't move around much, and it is "dark" insofar as it doesn't produce or interact with light. ...
Dense Dark Matter Hairs Spreading Out from Earth, Jupiter and Other Compact Bodies - Gary Prezeau
- arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1507.07009 > 24 Jul 2015 (v1), 23 Oct 2015 (v2)