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Scientists may have seen dark matter. If they did, what exactly is it?
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cm0002 toast.ooo cm0002@toast.ooo
Joined: 2025-10-22
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Da Oeuf slrpnk.net oeuf@slrpnk.net
Joined: 2025-07-16
#2 · Quote Reply

Cheeky question:

If they've seen it, does that mean it's not dark any more?

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wyldrstallyns lemmy.dbzer0.com wyldrstallyns@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2026-05-16
#3 · Quote Reply

Cheeky question: If they've seen it, does that mean it's not dark any more?

NGL, it's like saying you see a shadow, though you're seeing the stark contrast from the (presumably) lit surroundings. Culturally acceptable, but is it scientifically accurate? 🤷🏼‍♂️

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paris lemmy.blahaj.zone paris@lemmy.blahaj.zone
Joined: 2023-07-12
#4 · Quote Reply

Cheeky question: If they've seen it, does that mean it's not dark any more?

My understanding is that it's called dark because it doesn't interact with light or with matter except for via gravitational pull. So it is literally dark in that it can't be seen directly, only its effects observed. So in the event that we find some other way in which it visibly interacts with the world around it, "dark matter/energy" would probably be renamed to something better describing its behavior. I am not remotely qualified in this or any adjacent fields, so this is a layperson's understanding.

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