14 DAY TRIAL // The number and disposition of dwarf galaxies and star clusters surrounding the Milky Way is shedding doubt on the existence of dark matter, the stuff believed to make up around a quarter of the Universe's mass-energy budget, and to interact with regular matter solely through the force of gravity.
The objects accounted for in a new study by German astronomers at the University of Bonn area spread out over a radius of about 1 million light-years around our galaxy. For comparison, the latter is about 100,000 light-years across, Space reports.
None of the theories on the nature and behavior of dark matter astrophysicists compiled thus far comes close to explaining this arrangement. “Our model appears to rule out the presence of dark matter in the universe, threatening a central pillar of current cosmological theory,” professor Pavel Kroupa explains.
He believes that the new study may force a rethink in our understanding of the Universe and its components. Dark matter and dark energy are central concepts in explaining the inflationary Cosmos, and why the expansion set in motion by the Big Bang is not slowing down, but constantly accelerating.