Mexican Student Cracks the Enigma in Galactic Halos
Scientists found long-lost ordinary matter hiding in giant halos surrounding galaxies. Key to discovery: using quasars as cosmic flashlights to cast shadows of the missing matter. This hot, diffuse gas offers clues to galaxy evolution and opens new research paths.
Deep within the vast cosmos, a cosmic game of hide-and-seek has been afoot for eons. Ordinary matter, the stuff that makes up everything we know and see, comprises a mere 5% of the Universe. The rest? A perplexing enigma shrouded in darkness – 25% attributed to the elusive dark matter and 70% to the enigmatic dark energy. But within this 5%, another mystery lurked – missing matter, seemingly lost within galaxies like our own.
Until recently, this “lost” material remained hidden, a cosmic ghost haunting astronomer's observations. But not anymore. An international team, including a bright young Mexican student named Yair Krongold Herrera, has unearthed a groundbreaking clue, unveiling the whereabouts of this elusive matter in the vast halos surrounding galaxies.
