An Epic Cosmic Smash-Up May Have Revealed Evidence of The Universe's Missing Matter

[Judi Lynn]

16 October 2022
ByMICHELLE STARR



The merging sub-clusters of Abell 98. (X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/A. Sarkar; Optical: NSF/NOIRLab/WIYN)

A collision between some of the largest structures in space has just given us a clue about one of the biggest mysteries in the Universe: the location of a whole pile of missing matter.

In the galaxy cluster Abell 98 – in which two sub-clusters are in the process of merging – scientists have found a filament of gas consistent with something called the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM).

This fog of plasma thought to float around in between galaxies happens to be one of the leading candidates for the location of a shortfall in the amount of visible, garden-variety particles called 'baryonic matter' measured in the local Universe.

Previous evidence suggests that the WHIM is out there, but it's proven difficult to locate enough of the material to argue how it contributes to the missing baryons.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/an-epic-cosmic-smash-up-may-have-revealed-evidence-of-the-universes-missing-matter

[Firestorm49]

1. Thanks, JL. This is fascinating reading.