And it might have to do with dark matter.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00NASA's New Horizons probe is now way out past Pluto, in the darkest reaches of our
00:09solar system.
00:10But there's just one thing.
00:11It isn't as dark as expected.
00:12The spacecraft has been picking up twice the amount of light on the optical spectrum as
00:16expected.
00:17But it's not coming from stars, but rather from between them, and it might actually have
00:21to do with one of the universe's greatest mysteries.
00:24Dark matter.
00:25Dark matter remains elusive because it cannot be detected directly.
00:28Rather it's the name we've given to the cause of excess gravity when calculating cosmic
00:31masses.
00:32But if dark matter is real, scientists say it accounts for 80% of all matter in the universe.
00:37So how are we seeing light out in space produced by dark matter if we can't detect dark matter?
00:42Well experts say it might have to do with hypothetical particles called axions.
00:46Axions might be the solution to why there's so much gravity in the universe.
00:49Or it could actually be the dark matter scientists are looking for.
00:52Which is why this discovery is so important, as scientists have now been able to put together
00:56a mathematical model that reveals that axions with a mass between 8 and 20 electron volts
01:01could create all this extra light New Horizons detected, meaning we may be one step closer
01:05to understanding axions, and by default, maybe even dark matter.