High-resolution map shows dark matter's gravity pulled normal matter into galaxies

Scientists have created the highest resolution map of the dark matter that threads through the universe—showing its influence on the formation of stars, galaxies and planets.

The research, including astronomers from Durham University, UK, tells us more about how this invisible substance helped pull ordinary matter into galaxies like the Milky Way and planets like Earth. The findings, using new data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (Webb), are published in the journal Nature Astronomy. The study was jointly led by Durham University, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. The new map confirms previous research and provides new details about the relationship between dark matter and the normal matter from which we—and everything we can touch or see—are made.

When the universe began, dark matter and normal matter were probably sparsely distributed. Scientists think dark matter clumped together first and then pulled in normal matter, creating regions where stars and galaxies began to form. How dark matter shaped the universe In this way, dark matter determined the large-scale distribution of galaxies we see in the universe today. By prompting galaxy and star formation to begin earlier than they would have otherwise, dark matter also played a role in creating the conditions for planets to eventually form. Without it we might not have the elements in our galaxy that allowed life to appear.

Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have produced one of the most detailed maps to date of dark matter. By measuring how gravity from unseen matter bends the light of background galaxies, the map shows how dark matter acts as the hidden framework on which visible galaxies are built. The overlaid contours mark regions of equal dark-matter density, highlighting where this invisible matter—shown here in a blue color—is most strongly concentrated. Credit: Dr. Gavin Leroy/COSMOS-Webb collaboration. Read more

The Dark Matter distribution in the COSMOS field observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and by James Webb Space Telescope (right). Credit: Dr. Gavin Leroy/Professor Richard Massey/COSMOS-Webb collaboration. Read more

This map shows the Dark Matter distribution in the COSMOS field observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and by the James Webb Space Telescope (right). The overlaid contours mark regions of equal dark-matter density, highlighting where this invisible matter—shown here in a blue color—is most strongly concentrated. Credit: Dr. Gavin Leroy/Professor Richard Massey/COSMOS-Webb collaboration. Read more

Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have produced one of the most detailed maps to date of dark matter. By measuring how gravity from unseen matter bends the light of background galaxies, the map shows how dark matter acts as the hidden framework on which visible galaxies are built. Credit: Dr. Gavin Leroy/Professor Richard Massey/COSMOS-Webb collaboration. Read more

Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have produced one of the most detailed maps to date of dark matter. By measuring how gravity from unseen matter bends the light of background galaxies, the map shows how dark matter acts as the hidden framework on which visible galaxies are built. Here the Dark matter map from the JWST telescope is framed inside the original HST map from 2007. Credit: Dr. Gavin Leroy/Professor Richard Massey/COSMOS-Webb collaboration. Read more

The James Webb Space Telescope in space near Earth. Credit: NASA/dima_zel Read more

In 2007, astronomers produced the first detailed map of the hidden dark matter of the COSMOS field. By measuring how gravity from unseen matter bends the light of background galaxies, the map shows how dark matter is distributed and acts as the hidden framework on which visible galaxies are built. Credit: NASA, ESA and R Massey (California Institute of Technology). Read more