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Article: Tracing the architecture of dark matter. (two types of dark matter proposed)(Science News of the Week)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- February 10, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Stars and galaxies set the night sky aglow, but these glittering jewels account for only a tiny portion of matter in the cosmos. For more than half a century, astronomers have gathered evidence that at least 90 percent of the mass in the universe doesn't emit light. This invisible material, known as dark matter, exerts a gravitational tug, just as stars and galaxies do, but has otherwise remained a mystery.
Now, a team of Japanese astronomers argues that dark matter has another property in common with visible material. The unseen matter forms small lumps that coalesce into bigger lumps, in the same way that visible stars group into galaxies and galaxies assemble into ...