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The Hubble Space Telescope has been in space for more than 30 years since it was commissioned in 1990, and it has been a huge help in understanding the formation of the universe and its origins.
Today, long-term observational data from Hubble is also an important material for astronomers to study the material composition of galaxies.
In a recent study, data collected from Hubble helped astronomers analyze the trajectories of thousands of stars in a galaxy and revealed a startling discovery: the galaxy's "invisible glue" – dark matter – appears to form a pointed structure at the center.
Hubble data studies the distribution of dark matter.
Dark matter refers to a substance that does not interact with electromagnetic radiation, and the existence of dark matter can be reflected by the gravitational effect it produces.
At the moment, astronomers have confirmed the existence of dark matter, but it is not clear what exactly it is.
There is a lot of evidence that dark matter exists in the universe and plays a key role in the formation and evolution of galaxies.
It accounts for about 27% of the total material energy density in the universe, and its composition remains an unsolved mystery.
Dark matter does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, so it cannot be directly observed through radio, optical, or X-ray telescopes.
In the new study, long-term observational data from the Hubble Space Telescope provide astronomers with a new perspective on the distribution of dark matter in galaxies, particularly in the analysis of star motion within a dwarf galaxy called Draco.
This discovery may provide important clues for us to further understand the nature of dark matter.
In 2004, HST's Poseidon mission discovered a galaxy called the Draco Dwarf Galaxy (DDO 154), a galaxy about 8.1 million light-years away from Earth.
The peculiarity of this galaxy is that it is the only galaxy discovered so far that has a large amount of interstellar gas and does not undergo star formation.
This feature allows astronomers to better study the role of dark matter in galaxies.
Between 2004 and 2022, Hubble observed the Draco dwarf galaxy for 18 years.
The galaxy has a number of advantages that make it ideal for studying the interaction between stars and dark matter:
First, it is very close to Earth, only 260,000 light-years away, which makes it easier to study its internal motions.
Second, its mass is so small that it is difficult to get any smaller, which makes the gravitational effect of its dark matter more significant.
However, the biggest advantage is that it contains a large amount of gas, which makes there is no interference with the movement of stars in the galaxy.
This means that their movement is almost entirely influenced by the gravitational pull of dark matter.
The 20-year long-term data accumulation of the Hubble Space Telescope has provided the team with an unprecedented opportunity to reduce uncertainty by indirectly measuring the three-dimensional motion of stars.
In the study, the team measured the line-of-sight velocity and intrinsic motion of 461 stars in the galaxy and combined the data to build a three-dimensional model of the star's motion.
Intrinsic motion refers to the motion of stars relative to background galaxies, and its measurements are based on long-term observations by astronomers.
In their research, scientists found that the distribution of dark matter is not uniform, but rather has sharp shapes, like "fangs in the mouth".
These pointed structures are consistent with existing models of the universe.
The study not only provides astronomers with a new perspective on the distribution of dark matter in galaxies, but also paves the way for future studies of other galaxies.
The superiority of Hubble data accumulation.
The study, which analyzed data collected from 2004 to 2022, showed the great advantage of the Hubble Space Telescope in this study.
Over the past 20 years, the Hubble Space Telescope's observations of galaxies have dramatically improved data quality while significantly reducing data uncertainty.
Studies have shown that there is a large amount of dark matter in the central region of galaxies, showing a "point-like structure", which provides important clues for understanding the distribution of dark matter.
However, the composition of these dark matter is not yet known at this stage, and the follow-up work of scientists is to solve this mystery.
We are also very much looking forward to future research that will reveal more clearly the shape of dark matter in these galaxies.
It is important to note that the unique perspective of this study may be applicable to other types of galaxies, and the study of other galaxies may reveal different patterns of dark matter distribution.
The accumulation of observational data over a long period of time provides strong support for these studies.
In addition, the launch of the Nancy Grace Rome Space Telescope will greatly improve our ability to observe galaxies and bring more new insights into dark matter.
In future studies, scientists will continue to use Hubble's valuable observations to analyze data on other galaxies.
The research results of the Hubble Space Telescope are not only our exploration of the universe, but also the crystallization of human wisdom.
It teaches us perseverance and patience because the path of science is full of challenges and unknowns.
It is these challenges that inspire us to continue to explore and discover, and to deepen our understanding of the universe.
Cosmic Evolution and Dark Matter.
The existence of dark matter is not only a major scientific issue, but also has a profound impact on our worldview.
It makes us realize that our understanding of the universe is still very limited, and that many unsolved mysteries await us to explore.
Astronomers are deepening their understanding of dark matter, hoping to reveal its nature and composition.
Interdisciplinary research collaborations play an important role in this process.
For example, collaboration between particle physicists and cosmologists is essential to unravel the nature of dark matter.
Similarly, the collaboration of astronomers and physicists can help us better understand the relationship between dark matter and the evolution of the universe.
There are many candidate models for dark matter itself, including supersymmetric particles, heterogeneous objects, and proton- or electron-free particles.
However, the current experimental results do not definitively support any of these models.
This mystery has attracted the attention of scientists.
The strategy of long-term observation is also very important in scientific research in other fields.
For example, in ecology, long-term monitoring of changes in an ecosystem can reveal the relationship between the environment and living things.
In climate change research, the combination of climate models and long-term observational data can help us predict future climate trends.
In addition, the application of artificial intelligence technology also provides new opportunities for scientific modeling of large-scale astronomical data.
With AI algorithms, we can process and analyze large amounts of data more quickly, improving the accuracy of our models.
epilogue
With advances in telescope technology, we may revolutionize our understanding of the structure of the universe in the future.
This breakthrough will provide us with a new perspective on the nature of the universe and our own existence.
The results of the Hubble Space Telescope's research are the culmination of human ingenuity and part of our unwavering belief in space exploration.
Astronomers will continue to work hard to uncover more mysteries of the universe and let us look forward to future discoveries.
As Albert Einstein said, "What we know is only the tip of the iceberg that we don't know."
Our exploration of the universe has only just begun, and more surprises await us to discover.