{"id":10930,"date":"2015-07-09T11:04:58","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T15:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10930"},"modified":"2015-07-09T11:04:58","modified_gmt":"2015-07-09T15:04:58","slug":"eso-new-galactic-survey-measuring-dark-matter-distribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10930","title":{"rendered":"ESO: New galactic survey measuring dark matter distribution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s the latest\u00a0ESO<\/a>\u00a0(European Southern Observatory) report:<\/p>\n

Huge New Survey to Shine Light on Dark Matter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The first results have been released from a major new dark matter survey of the southern skies using ESO\u2019s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The VST KiDS survey will allow astronomers to make precise measurements of dark matter, the structure of galaxy halos, and the evolution of galaxies and clusters. The first KiDS results show how the characteristics of the observed galaxies are determined by the invisible vast clumps of dark matter surrounding them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The first results have been released from a major new dark matter survey of the southern skies using ESO\u2019s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The project, known as the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), uses imaging from the VST and its huge camera, OmegaCAM to analyse images of over two million galaxies. The KiDS team studied the distortion of light emitted from these galaxies, which bends as it passes massive clumps of dark matter during its journey to Earth. From the gravitational lensing effect, these groups turn out to contain around 30 times more dark than visible matter. Left, a group of galaxies mapped by KiDS. Right, the same area of sky, but with the invisible dark matter rendered in pink. Credit: Kilo-Degree Survey Collaboration\/A. Tudorica & C. Heymans\/ESO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Around 85% of the matter in the Universe is dark [1]<\/a>, and of a type not understood by physicists. Although it doesn\u2019t shine or absorb light, astronomers can detect this dark matter through its effect on stars and galaxies, specifically from its gravitational pull. A major project using ESO\u2019s powerful survey telescopes<\/a> is now showing more clearly than ever before the relationships between this mysterious dark matter <\/a>and the shining galaxies that we can observe directly [2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The project, known as the Kilo-Degree Survey<\/a> (KiDS), uses imaging from the VLT Survey Telescope<\/a> and its huge camera,\u00a0OmegaCAM<\/a>. Sited at ESO\u2019s Paranal Observatory in Chile, this telescope is dedicated to surveying the night sky in visible light \u2014 and it is complemented by the infrared survey telescope VISTA<\/a>. One of the major goals of the VST is to map out dark matter and to use these maps to understand the mysterious dark energy<\/a> that is causing our Universe’s expansion to accelerate.<\/p>\n

The best way to work out where the dark matter lies is through gravitational lensing<\/a> \u2014 the distortion of the Universe’s fabric by gravity, which deflects the light coming from distant galaxies far beyond the dark matter. By studying this effect it is possible to map out the places where gravity is strongest, and hence where the matter, including dark matter, resides.<\/p>\n

As part of the first cache of papers, the international KiDS team of researchers, led by Koen Kuijken at the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands [3]<\/a>, has used this approach to analyse images of over two million galaxies, typically 5.5 billion light-years away [4]<\/a>. They studied the distortion of light emitted from these galaxies, which bends as it passes massive clumps of dark matter during its journey to Earth.<\/p>\n

The first results come from only 7% of the final survey area and concentrate on mapping the distribution of dark matter in groups of galaxies. Most galaxies live in groups \u2014 including our own Milky Way, which is part of the Local Group<\/a> \u2014 and understanding how much dark matter they contain is a key test of the whole theory of how galaxies form in the cosmic web. From the gravitational lensing effect, these groups turn out to contain around 30 times more dark than visible matter.<\/p>\n

“Interestingly, the brightest galaxy nearly always sits in the middle of the dark matter clump,<\/em>” says Massimo Viola (Leiden Observatory, the Netherlands) lead author of one of the first KiDS papers.<\/p>\n

“This prediction of galaxy formation theory, in which galaxies continue to be sucked into groups and pile up in the centre, has never been demonstrated so clearly before by observations,<\/em>” adds Koen Kuijken.<\/p>\n

The findings are just the start of a major programme to exploit the immense datasets coming from the survey telescopes and the data are now being made available to scientists worldwide through the ESO archive.<\/p>\n

The KiDS survey will help to further expand our understanding of dark matter. Being able to explain dark matter and its effects would represent a major breakthrough in physics.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s the latest\u00a0ESO\u00a0(European Southern Observatory) report: Huge New Survey to Shine Light on Dark Matter The first results have been released from a major new dark matter survey of the southern skies using ESO\u2019s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The VST KiDS survey will allow astronomers to make precise measurements … Continue reading ESO: New galactic survey measuring dark matter distribution<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-2Qi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13595,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13595","url_meta":{"origin":10930,"position":0},"title":"ESO: New study finds smoother dark matter distribution than earlier observations","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest report from the\u00a0ESO\u00a0(European Southern Observatory): Dark Matter May be Smoother than Expected Careful study of large area of sky imaged by VST reveals intriguing result Analysis of a giant new galaxy survey, made with ESO\u2019s VLT Survey Telescope in Chile, suggests that dark matter may be less dense\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"This map of dark matter in the Universe was obtained from data from the KiDS survey, using the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO\u2019s Paranal Observatory in Chile. It reveals an expansive web of dense (light) and empty (dark) regions. This image is one out of five patches of the sky observed by KiDS. Here the invisible dark matter is seen rendered in pink, covering an area of sky around 420 times the size of the full moon. This image reconstruction was made by analysing the light collected from over three million distant galaxies more than 6 billion light-years away. The observed galaxy images were warped by the gravitational pull of dark matter as the light travelled through the Universe. Some small dark regions, with sharp boundaries, appear in this image. They are the locations of bright stars and other nearby objects that get in the way of the observations of more distant galaxies and are hence masked out in these maps as no weak-lensing signal can be measured in these areas.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/eso1642a1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16522,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16522","url_meta":{"origin":10930,"position":1},"title":"ESO: Elliptical galaxies shine in the VLT Survey Telescope’s wide field","author":"TopSpacer","date":"August 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest report from\u00a0ESO\u00a0(European Southern Observatory): Elliptical Elegance A glittering host of galaxies populate this rich image taken with ESO\u2019s VLT Survey Telescope, a state-of-the-art 2.6-m telescope designed for surveying the sky in visible light. 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