. Astrophysicists and cosmologists believe dark matter is everywhere in the Universe. According to them, dark matter is present in all galaxies. This was proven by the 1970s measuring the speed of gas and stars. It also allows for the precise “weighing” of the host galaxy as well as determining its total weight. It was also established using other techniques. These measurements show that visible matter accounts for only a fraction of the total weight in the Universe. The majority of the Universe is made up of dark matter. This image shows the rotation curve tracer colors, which have been color-coded according their relative motion to the sun. It was used for publication alongside a photo of the Milky Way from the Southern Hemisphere. This spherically-symmetrical blue halo shows the distribution of dark matter derived from the analysis. (Credit: Serge Brunier / NASA. Eurekalert Image. While the same method can be used to show dark matter in outer regions of the Milky Way galaxy, it is difficult to establish its presence within the innermost regions. About 100,000 light years is the diameter of Milky Way. The center of the galaxy is approximately 26,000 light years away. It is more difficult to accurately measure the stars and gas rotations the closer we are to the center of our galaxy. The existence of dark matter can be seen all around us. Now scientists from the University of Amsterdam and the ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research (Sao Paulo), the Technische Universitat Munchen, Stockholm University, as well as the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid have for the very first time observed direct evidence of dark matter’s presence in the Milky Way. It also includes the location of Earth and its “cosmic neighbor”. They began by compiling the largest compilation of publicly available measurements of stars and gas in the Milky Way. The team then compared what they had measured to the expected rotation speed if only luminous matter was present in the galaxy. This clearly showed that the observed rotation could not be explained if there was a lot dark matter around, in and between us, or within our galaxy. Miguel Pato from TU Munchen carried out the analysis. He stated: “We know dark matter is required in our Galaxy for the stars to rotate at the observed speeds. We still don’t know the composition of dark matter. “This is one of most crucial science questions of our time.” Although the scientists now have solid statistical evidence at very small glactocentric distances from the Milky Way, these results provide a way to determine how much dark matter is in the Milky Way. The researchers stated that this method allows astronomers to determine the amount of dark matter within the galaxy using future observations with an “unprecedented accuracy”. Since then, Mr. Pato has moved to the Oskar Klein Center for Cosmoparticle Physics, Stockholm University. He stated: “This will allow us to improve our understanding of the structure, evolution, and dynamics of our Galaxy. It will also make it easier to predict the results of the numerous experiments that seek dark matter particles. Citation: Fabio Iocco. Miguel Pato. Gianfranco Bertone. Nature Physics advanced online publication February 9, 2015. DOI: 10. 1038/nphys3237
