Dark Matter

Dark Matter

A typical galaxy contains much more matter than what we can actually see. In fact, the visible portion of a galaxy represents only about 5 to 10% of total mass of the galaxy. Many studies lead us to define the conclusion that the Universe abounds in matter that we cannot see. This unseen matter is called Dark Matter because either it does not emit light or its light emission is too dim for us to detect.

Normal matter, such as STARS, PLANETS, DUST and MOLECULES , is often called Baryonic Matter because its mass is primarily due to the combined mass of the protons and neutrons, which are combinedly called Baryons, it contains. The mass of electrons is neglected because the mass of an electron is so small relative to the mass of a proton or neutron. Some of the normal matter such as burned out stars and dim interstellar gas, is part of the dark matter in a galaxy.

However, according to various calculations, this dark normal matter is only a small part of the total dark matter. The rest is called Non Baryonic Dark Matter because it does not contain proton and neutrons. What it contains? We know only one member of this type of dark matter…..the neutrinos.

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