Astronomers uncover universe's missing matter
Scientists from Harvard and Caltech have solved a cosmic mystery: they found most of the universe's ordinary matter hiding as hot, thin gas between galaxies.
They pulled this off using fast radio bursts (FRBs)—super-quick flashes of radio waves from faraway galaxies.
About 76% of normal matter floats in intergalactic medium
By studying 60 FRBs, researchers figured out that about 76% of normal matter floats in the intergalactic medium, while just 15% sits in galaxy halos and only a tiny bit is in stars or cold gas.
They measured how these radio bursts slowed down traveling through space to map where all this stuff was hiding.
Using FRBs as cosmic tools could unlock more secrets
This discovery helps scientists understand how matter moves and changes across the universe.
Using FRBs as cosmic tools could unlock even more secrets about how everything is put together out there—pretty cool for anyone curious about what makes up our universe.