Astronomers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have uncovered new insights into the strange absence of dark matter in the distant galaxy NGC 1052-DF2, an ultra-diffuse galaxy.
About the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA)
- IIA is a premier research institution under India’s Department of Science and Technology, known for its contributions in solar physics, stellar astronomy, and galaxy formation.
- The institute leads cutting-edge studies in astrophysics and collaborates internationally on large-scale space and ground-based observatories.
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About Galaxy NGC 1052-DF2
- NGC 1052-DF2 is known for its large size but extremely low surface brightness due to the sparse presence of stars.
- Despite its large radius, the galaxy has a total dynamical mass of under 340 million solar masses, nearly matching its estimated stellar mass of 200 million solar masses.
- A solar mass refers to the standard unit used to measure the mass of stars, equivalent to the mass of the Sun.
- The galaxy shows a striking deficiency of dark matter, with most of its mass consisting of visible stars unlike typical galaxies such as the Milky Way.
Significance of the Discovery
- Challenging Dark Matter Paradigms: The findings challenge the widely accepted belief that dark matter is essential for galaxy formation and structure in the universe.
- NGC 1052-DF2 raises key questions about whether some galaxies can form and evolve with little to no dark matter content.
- Insights into Galaxy Formation: This study provides valuable insights into the diversity of galaxy formation, suggesting that alternative models may be needed to explain such outliers.
What is Dark Matter?
- Definition: Dark matter is a mysterious, invisible substance that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, making it undetectable by conventional electromagnetic observations.
- Presence in Universe and Galaxies: It constitutes about 27% of the universe’s mass-energy content and plays a crucial role in holding galaxies together through its gravitational influence, despite being invisible.
- Research on Dark Matter: Scientists study dark matter through indirect observations, like gravitational lensing and galaxy rotation curves.
- Experiments such as those at CERN and underground detectors like Xenon1T aim to directly detect or produce dark matter particles, though conclusive evidence remains elusive.
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