What is Dark Matter? Even the Best Theories Are Crumbling

The Crux
By Korey Haynes
Sep 21, 2018 10:00 PMDec 17, 2019 12:40 AM
Large Hadron Collider - CERN
The Large Hadron Collider is looking for dark matter candidates. (Credit: CERN)

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Dark matter research is unsettling. Scientists were unnerved when they first noticed that galaxies don’t rotate by the same physics as a spinning plate. The stars at a galaxy’s edge rotate faster than expected. And their motion can only be explained by a lot of invisible matter that we can’t see.

That was exciting more than unsettling when the field was new and ideas were plentiful and had yet to be proven wrong. Researchers consolidated the possibilities into two main camps, complete with clever acronyms: MACHOs (Massive Compact Halo Objects) and WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles).

MACHOS Aren’t the Answer

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