The last few decades have ushered in an amazing era in the science of cosmology. The development of high-precision measurements has allowed us to change in detail the understanding of the very history of the universe. And new data consistently confirm the correctness of the chosen path: the samples of light emitted during the formation of the first atoms, the expansion of galaxies and other facts ideally fit into the theoretical calculations of astrophysicists and mathematicians. But despite all the successes, there is still a lot we do not know. One of the biggest mysteries concerns dark matter, the substance that occupies most of the universe.
What is it all made of
After decades of fierce debate, scientists have concluded that roughly 84% of our universe is not made up of atoms, nor is it made of any other known substance. At the same time, we can feel the gravitational attraction of this incomprehensible anomaly: there is definitely something there, only it is not clear what. This mysterious material is invisible, or at least almost imperceptible by current technical means. Dark matter? The name came about simply because there was nothing better.
A shadow in the dark
Dark matter is not visible in any way. It does not reflect, produce or absorb light. We simply cannot see it, but astrophysicists have learned to understand the existence of dark matter by the gravitational effects that it has on other objects in space. Imagine ripples from the wind on the surface of a pond: we do not see the cause, but we see the effect and can draw some conclusions based on them.
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Galaxy X
Surprisingly, scientists were able to detect (albeit only theoretically) even an entire galaxy consisting exclusively of dark matter. The so-called Galaxy X lies outside the Milky Way. Researchers discovered strange gravitational anomalies in that region of space and were able to match the gravitational effect that appeared from nowhere with the available facts about dark matter. It turned out that somewhere out there, beyond our perception, there must be a mysterious galaxy entirely consisting of dark matter!
Can not understand anything
Over the past 15 years, experiments aimed at detecting individual particles of dark matter have become a million times more accurate. And yet, no sign of these elusive particles appeared at all. The Large Hadron Collider was supposed to solve this problem, but with the exception of the Higgs boson, scientists have not been able to detect any new particles.
The further the harder it gets
Sometimes it seems that the more accurately scientists measure the universe, the less they understand it. This is rather strange, because during the second half of the 20th century, theoretical physics was very successful in predicting new types of particles, and the appearance of new, more and more powerful accelerators only confirmed theoretical calculations. But now scientists seem to be at the very edge of the very possibility of knowledge. Some people are sure that a person is simply not able to comprehend the real laws of the Universe. Let's hope that we will solve these riddles someday.