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| Mysterious Signals from Deep Space Reveal the Secret of the Universe's “Missing Matter”. |
Have you ever heard about the “missing matter” of the universe? No, it’s not sci-fi—it’s a real mystery that’s been puzzling scientists for decades. But now, that puzzle might finally be getting solved thanks to some strange signals from the depths of space!
Here’s the scoop...
A research team from Harvard University and Caltech (California Institute of Technology) has made a breakthrough in locating the missing "ordinary matter" that has long eluded scientists. The secret? Strange, ultra-fast bursts of energy known as Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs)—brief, bright flashes of radio waves that originate from faraway parts of the cosmos.
What Is Ordinary Matter—and How Can It Go Missing?
Ordinary matter is everything made of protons and neutrons—basically, all the stuff we can touch and see, like people, planets, stars, and galaxies. It makes up about 5% of the total universe. But here's the kicker: scientists couldn’t account for half of that 5%. It wasn’t showing up in any observations. Wild, right?
So How Do FRBs Help?
This is where FRBs come to the rescue. Scientists studied 69 different FRBs that traveled across intergalactic space. As these radio signals passed through the thin gas between galaxies, they slowed down slightly. By measuring this delay, scientists were able to estimate how much matter the signal passed through—even though that matter is invisible to telescopes.
The Findings? Pretty Incredible
After crunching the numbers, the researchers found:
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About 76% of ordinary matter is floating as hot gas between galaxies.
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Around 15% is in gas halos surrounding galaxies.
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The remaining 9% is in stars, planets, and galaxies themselves.
In other words, FRBs acted like cosmic flashlights, lighting up the hidden corners of the universe.
What’s Next? Even More Exciting Stuff!
The research team plans to take things further using a powerful new system called the Deep Synoptic Array-2000. It's a massive network of 2,000 radio telescopes that will scan the sky non-stop for five years. Their goal? To detect up to 10,000 new FRBs every year, giving scientists even better data to map out ordinary matter across the universe.
Thanks to these strange cosmic signals, scientists now have a much clearer idea of where the universe’s missing matter has been hiding all along. It’s a major step forward in understanding how the universe is built and opens the door to even more groundbreaking discoveries in the future.
Who would’ve thought that split-second bursts of energy from the edge of the universe could unlock one of science’s biggest mysteries?
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