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Dark Matter: The Invisible Skeleton of the Universe - Leejohnston - 11-16-2025
?️ DARK MATTER — THE INVISIBLE SKELETON OF THE COSMOS
A Lumin Archive Learning Thread
✨ 1. What Is Dark Matter?
Dark matter is a form of matter that:
• Does not emit light
• Does not absorb light
• Does not interact electromagnetically
• Only interacts through gravity
We cannot see it — but we detect its gravitational effects.
Dark matter makes up:
27% of the universe
(but only 5% is regular matter)
So the structure of the universe is built mostly from something invisible.
? 2. How Do We Know Dark Matter Exists?
1. Galaxy Rotation Curves
Stars orbit galaxies too fast.
Without extra mass holding them in place, galaxies would fly apart.
Dark matter solves this.
2. Gravitational Lensing
Mass bends light.
We see lensing far stronger than visible matter can create.
3. Structure of the Universe
Simulations with only normal matter fail.
Add dark matter → structures match observations.
4. Bullet Cluster (2006)
Two galaxy clusters collided.
Gas slowed down; dark matter passed through.
Visible mass and gravitational mass separated — direct evidence.
? 3. What Might Dark Matter Be?
Main candidates:
• WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles)
Classic dark matter particle.
• Axions
Ultra-light particles predicted by quantum theory.
• Sterile Neutrinos
Right-handed neutrinos that barely interact.
• MACHOs (Massive Compact Halo Objects)
Black holes, brown dwarfs — not enough to explain everything.
• Superfluid Dark Matter
Exotic idea: dark matter behaves as a quantum superfluid in galaxies.
Still unknown — but experiments are improving.
? 4. What Dark Matter Does
• Forms halos around galaxies
• Holds galaxies together
• Shapes the cosmic web
• Controls formation of galaxy clusters
• Determines growth of structure after the Big Bang
Without dark matter:
No galaxies would exist.
? 5. The Mystery We’re Still Trying to Solve
Scientists still ask:
• What particle causes dark matter?
• Does it interact beyond gravity?
• Does it form dark stars or dark planets?
• How is dark matter distributed in the Milky Way?
• Is dark matter linked to dark energy?
Dark matter is the hidden framework of the universe — the cosmic skeleton everything else is built on.
Written for The Lumin Archive — Science for the curious and the brave.