Has Dogma Derailed the Search for Dark Matter?

The Crux
By Pavel Kroupa, University of Bonn
Feb 6, 2017 11:56 PMFeb 17, 2020 4:53 PM
dark-matter-1024x614.jpg
A Hubble composite image shows a ring of 'dark matter' in the galaxy cluster Cl 0024+17. (Courtesy NASA, ESA, M.J. Jee and H. Ford. Credit: Johns Hopkins University)

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According to mainstream researchers, the vast majority of the matter in the Universe is invisible: it consists of dark-matter particles that do not interact with radiation and cannot be seen through any telescope. The case for dark matter is regarded as so overwhelming that its existence is often reported as fact. Lately, though, cracks of doubt have started to appear. In July, the LUX experiment in South Dakota came up empty in its search for dark particles – the latest failure in a planet-wide, decades-long effort to find them. Some cosmic surveys also suggest that dark particles cannot be there, which is especially confounding since astronomical observations were the original impetus for the dark-matter hypothesis.

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