Page 12 - All About Space 68 - 2017 UK

LAUNCH PAD

YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE UNIVERSE

Moon suspected

to hold water

Evidence of liquid deep

within our natural
satellite’s interior could aid

future human exploration
of the lunar surface

Although ice exists at the Moon’s
poles, scientists have long thought
our natural satellite to be generally
dry. New research, however, suggests
that large amounts of water could be
trapped beneath the lunar surface. If
this is the case, then it not only aids
future Moon missions and potential
colonisation, it raises the possibility of
some form of alien life residing there.
To reach their conclusion, scientists
at Brown University in Providence,
Rhode Island, USA, studied lunar

Dark matter likely to be cold and heavy

The new finding casts doubt on the consensus that the mysterious substance is light and fuzzy

The idea that dark matter is cold has theories, scientists involved in the
been lent credence by a new study, new study used a supercomputer at
casting fresh doubt on a relatively the University of Cambridge to look at
new theory claiming it to be 'fuzzy'. the relatively new observations of the
An international team of cosmologists intergalactic medium, which largely
studied data from the vast, near-empty consists of dark matter, hydrogen gas
space between galaxies. By labelling and a small amount of helium.
dark matter as 'cold,' they are backing Given hydrogen absorbs light from
a theory dating back to the 1980s. bright, distant objects, they studied
Cold dark matter suggests the dark how this empty space interacts with
matter molecules are heavy and sit light emitted by quasars – the massive
still – much like water molecules but distant star-like objects. They
frozen in ice. Rather than whizz concluded fuzzy dark matter particles
around near the speed of light, they would be too light to account for the
are thought to be pulled together by hydrogen absorption patterns in the
gravity, creating lumps. This helps to intergalactic medium, and that heavier
explain why galaxies tend to cluster in particles were more consistent with
larger groups, for instance, but it is far the simulations.
from perfect. It fails, for example, "What we have done is place
to explain why we have just a few constraints on what dark matter could
dozen small, close neighbours rather be – and 'fuzzy dark matter,' if it were
than hundreds. to make up all of dark matter, is not
The fuzzy dark matter theory consistent with our data," explains
emerged to help explain such lead scientist Vid Iršič, a postdoctoral © Vid Iršič, University of Washington
deficiencies, raising the possibility researcher in the Department
that dark matter is an ultralight of Astronomy at the University Knowing what dark matter consists of may be a mystery, but unlocking it
particle. Faced with competing of Washington. would help researchers understand what they're looking for

12