Explore Topics:
AIBiotechnologyRoboticsComputingFutureScienceSpaceEnergyTech
Space

Dark Matter Makes Up a Quarter of the Universe, But What Is It?

SingularityHub Staff
Nov 13, 2017
spiral-galaxy-NASA-Hubble-dark-matter-air-pump

Share

Until the 1960s, scientists thought ordinary matter and radiation made up everything in the universe. Then a young physicist named Vera Rubin made a discovery that shook things up. Rubin uncovered an unexpected relationship between the speed that galaxies rotate and the mass they contain. She observed the rotational speed of many galaxies suggested there was actually more mass present than we could see.

This discovery has been intensely debated, but one conclusion is that there must be another type of matter—one that is invisible to the human eye. Scientists call this type of matter dark matter, and they think it makes up about 27% of the universe.

Watch this episode of Tech-x-planations to learn more.

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

Image Credit: NASA

SingularityHub chronicles the technological frontier with coverage of the breakthroughs, players, and issues shaping the future.

Related Articles

NASA InSight lander detects seismic waves that passed through Mars interior, including the core

Mars May Be Hiding an Ocean of Liquid Water Under Its Surface

Hrvoje Tkalčić
and
Weijia Sun
Amazon's Project Kuiper launches first batch of internet satellites

Amazon Steps Into the Ring With SpaceX by Launching Its First Batch of Internet Satellites

Edd Gent
New Form of Dark Matter Could Solve Decades-Old Milky Way Mystery

New Form of Dark Matter Could Solve Decades-Old Milky Way Mystery

Shyam Balaji
NASA InSight lander detects seismic waves that passed through Mars interior, including the core
Space

Mars May Be Hiding an Ocean of Liquid Water Under Its Surface

Hrvoje Tkalčić
and
Weijia Sun
Amazon's Project Kuiper launches first batch of internet satellites
Space

Amazon Steps Into the Ring With SpaceX by Launching Its First Batch of Internet Satellites

Edd Gent
New Form of Dark Matter Could Solve Decades-Old Milky Way Mystery
Space

New Form of Dark Matter Could Solve Decades-Old Milky Way Mystery

Shyam Balaji

What we’re reading

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

SingularityHub chronicles the technological frontier with coverage of the breakthroughs, players, and issues shaping the future.

Follow Us On Social

About

  • About Hub
  • About Singularity

Get in Touch

  • Contact Us
  • Pitch Us
  • Brand Partnerships

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2025 Singularity