Astronomers have finally cracked one of cosmology’s biggest puzzles: where is half the universe’s ordinary matter hiding? (Universe’s ‘Missing’ Matter) Turns out, it was right there all along—thinly scattered across the cosmic wilderness, between galaxies, hiding in plain sight.
What happened:
- Using powerful Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs)—short, energetic blasts of radio waves from deep space—scientists traced and located the “missing” ordinary matter in the universe.
- These radio waves, traveling up to 9.1 billion light-years, helped researchers detect how much matter was in their path by analyzing how the waves dispersed across space.
- The breakthrough was achieved by observing 69 FRBs, with 39 detected through Caltech’s Deep Synoptic Array, a network of 110 telescopes in California.
Why it matters:
For years, scientists knew only half of all ordinary matter—the stuff that makes up stars, planets, people—was accounted for. The other half? A cosmic no-show.
This missing matter is made of baryons (protons and neutrons), and though its existence was predicted, it remained unseen.
Researchers now confirm that:
- 76% of ordinary matter exists as diffuse gas in intergalactic space.
- 15% resides in the halos around galaxies.
- Just 9% is concentrated within galaxies (in stars, planets, and gas).
Why it was missing:
- Violent space events—like supernovas and burping black holes—eject matter far from galaxies into intergalactic space.
- This matter forms a plasma, with separated protons and electrons, making it incredibly difficult to detect by traditional means.
What’s next:
Now that ordinary matter is mapped out, scientists can focus on even deeper cosmic questions, including:
- The true nature of dark matter(Universe’s ‘Missing’ Matter)—the mysterious substance making up 85% of all matter.
- Why ordinary matter behaves so differently from dark matter.
“We knew what it was, just not where it was,” said lead author Liam Connor of Harvard University. “Now we know. The next big mystery? What is dark matter?”
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