DARK MATTER VS. DARK ENERGY � PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT �1�
Dark Matter vs. Dark Energy
PHY1000- Introduction to Astronomy
June 11th, 2014�
Dark Energy vs. Dark Matter
Overall, I find the case for the existence of dark matter to be very convincing. So, what is dark matter? Dark matter is "matter that we infer to exist from its gravitational effect but from which we have not detected any light; dark matter apparently dominates the total mass of the universe" (Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit, 2012, p. G-3). Dark matter is called "dark" matter because it doesn't emit any light; it is unseen matter (Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit, 2012).
No one knows what this dark matter really is. It is, in fact, a big mystery. A select few scientists think that this mysterious dark matter could be made up of heavy, dark pieces of matter. This type of object is called Massive Compact Halo Objects or MACHOs.
English: CDMS (cryogenic dark matter search) param...
pie chart of dark matter and normal energy ratio t...
Retrieved from NASA online: http://www.nasa.gov/vi...However, most scientists think that this mysterious dark matter is made up of a number of little subatomic particles. These little subatomic particles are called Weakly Interacting Massive Particles or WIMPs (Aguilar, Pulliam, & Daniels, 2013).
There is proof of dark matter existing in our galaxy and also in other galaxies. Galaxies examined by astronomers were found to be rotating faster than originally expected. With galaxies rotating as fast as they are, they could fly apart and shatter stars. A very strong gravitational force must be the reason as to what is holding the galaxies together (Aguilar, Pulliam, & Daniels, 2013). There is evidence of dark matter located in galaxy clusters as well. Dark matter being in galaxy clusters comes from three ways to measure the clusters masses. One way is by measuring the speed of the galaxies that are orbiting the center...