Splash Biography

In the 1930s, astronomers were surprised to discover that the everyday matter we see, touch, and feel could not explain the gravitational effects they were observing - because to them it appeared invisible, they called it “dark.” Dark matter is actually about 5 times more abundant in the universe than regular matter, and it seems to be the key to explaining topics ranging from galaxy evolution to the origins of large scale structure in the cosmos. However, almost a century later, scientists still haven’t been able to agree very much on what it is, how it interacts, or why it exists! What they have found is that it gives off no light and barely interacts with anything we are familiar with, so it is extremely challenging to make experimental progress as well, though several international teams are participating in the effort to constrain its possible properties. Discovery of a dark matter candidate particle would represent an overturning of the entire standard model of particle physics as it currently stands! This class will explore the history of the discovery of dark matter, including various sources of evidence for its existence, and examine the most popular theories explaining it. Join us to find out more about why you should care and why it *matters!*