Distribution of Dark Matter – 3.5 Billion Years Ago

NASA, ESA, and R. Massey (California Institute of Technology)

Well, it’s a question that might come to the mind of many movie-goers after watching the impressive multi-media presentation Dark Energy on the Hubble Telescope website.The presentation’s video introduction, complete with spooky music in the background, is studded with phrases such as “an unexplained force,” “mystery force,” and “death of the universe.” Evoking the fun of being scared out of your wits by the fantastic and threatening seems to be one intention of the video creators.

It is only the frame, though, for telling the story of the revolutionary discovery only a few years ago of what really is a great mystery, the dark matter filling most of space. Just what this dark matter is actually doing to the universe is the heart of this stirring true tale.