Close
First dark matter map from DES
By Oli Usher, on 14 April 2015
The first dark matter map to come out of the Dark Energy Survey. Credit: Fermilab/Dark Energy Survey
The Dark Energy Survey, an international collaboration to probe the history, evolution and large-scale structure of the cosmos, has produced its first dark matter map. Dark matter is a transparent form of matter that is distributed in vast filaments throughout the known universe. Galaxies are located along these structures, and galaxy clusters lie where they meet. Because dark matter is fully transparent, it cannot be observed directly – its presence must be inferred from the gravitational effects it has on light, in particular, the way it distorts the shape of galaxies which lie in the background.
The map is the first of a series of dark matter maps that will be published by the survey team, and is part of a batch of research that is being released to coincide with the April meeting of the American Physical Society this week.
UCL is heavily involved with the Dark Energy Survey, and has several researchers involved in the newly-published research. The university is also involved in the project through the scientific instrumentation (UCL built some of the lenses that are used by the Dark Energy Camera), and UCL’s Ofer Lahav is co-chair of the DES science board.
