Researchers map dark matter in high resolution, showing its role in stars, galaxies formation

Researchers have created a high resolution map of dark matter, often described as the “invisible scaffolding of the Universe”, showing how gravity exerted by dark matter influenced the formation of stars, galaxies and planets.

Unlike ordinary matter, ‘dark matter’ is said to have peculiar properties, including being invisible as it does not interact with light. About 85 per cent of the Universe’s total matter created at the time of the Big Bang is said to be dark matter.

However, dark matter does exert gravity, just like ordinary matter, and can hold together galaxies, which the map, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, reaffirms with a new level of clarity, researchers said.