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Article: Light-bending gravity helps astronomers 'see' dark matter.(Features)(Ideas)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- October 11, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Christian Science Publishing Society. 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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Byline: Robert C. Cowen Special to The Christian Science Monitor
Astronomers are overcoming a basic frustration - how to "see" the so-called dark matter that constitutes most of the mass of our universe. Dark matter emits no light or other radiation. It makes itself known by the way its gravity helps stars, dust, and gas form galaxies and helps galaxies group together in clusters.
Now gravity is making the invisible visible.
It works like this: Material mass warps space, and light from background objects passing through such warped space is focused to form two or more images of the background objects.
Astronomers have used this ...