Out of all the matter in the universe, only 4% of the universe’s mass is currently understood — leaving 96% to be further investigated by researchers, according to professor in the Department of Astronomy Elena D’Onghia.
D’Onghia has been part of international teams that includes members from Italy, Canada and the United States, with expertise in the Hubble Space Telescope and quantification of data gathered from HST, according to D’Onghia.
The team built on previous work of a possible galaxy that was discovered by Chinese researchers, but lacked data on if there was a presence of stars, which can be detected through an emission on the electromagnetic spectrum. The lack of data on the presence of stars provided a chance that the candidate could be a failed galaxy, according to D’Onghia. They were able to conduct more work by applying and receiving time to use the HST to conduct data to be quantified, according to D’Onghia.
“We are aware of objects that usually, like gas objects, don’t have stars. What is peculiar here is that this is not just a cloud of gas. It is really a cloud that contains dark matter too. And so that’s what makes it a failed galaxy,” D’Onghia said.
26% of the matter in our universe is made of dark matter. Therefore, the fact that the objects in this possible galaxy consist of dark matter is significant, however, researchers have been unable to identify its composition, according to D’Onghia.
Despite the uncertainty of its composition, D’Onghia and her team were still able to conclude some information about dark matter. Since the objects they researched were dark matter illuminated, they could conclude hints on how galaxy formation evolves, according to D’Onghia.
“It gives us hints about processes of galaxy information and evolution,” D’Onghia said.
Work by D’Onghia and other researchers in the field has led to three big questions emerging for this century, according to D’Onghia. The first involves cementing what dark matter is after 40 years of studying it, but physicists have been unable to measure the particle, according to D’Onghia.
The second big question for this decade includes dark energy. While what humans know currently and dark matter make up 30% of the universe’s mass, the other 70% has been labeled as dark energy, which scientists currently have no understanding of, D’Onghia said.
The last of D’Onghia’s questions focused on human implications. D’Onghia is also working on shielding astronauts to protect the human body in space which will allow for astronauts to branch out from exploring the moon to exploring other planets, according to D’Onghia.
“We have to find the protection [for humans] because our species is very fragile,” D’Onghia said.
