Okay, explain to those of us who are science-challenged: What the heck is dark matter?
I don't know either, but perhaps the could call it "The Emperor's New Galaxy!"
Jesse Jackson?
Stuff that theoretically should be there, but isn't. Cuz they cannot see it, so it must be invisible, or dark.
Whatever.....
African matter.
Scientists believe that there should be a certain amount of matter in the universe to account for some of the things they see- rate of expansion of the universe, past and present. So far, they have not been able to find enough ordinary matter to account for some things in the universe. They believe that something they call "dark" matter accounts for the rest-but haven't been able to verify that because dark matter does not emit light, therefore it is incredibly hard to detect.
The existence of dark matter and dark energy is predicted by and essential to certain leading theories in physics, especially as to the nature of gravity. The present discovery matters because it provides the first observational support for the existence of dark matter.
Dark matter and dark energy are believed to be more common in the universe than the normal matter and energy that we can readily discern. Dark matter interacts with normal matter through the force of gravity, an effect that we can observe at cosmological distances.
Although dark matter and dark energy are nearly undetectable at present, physicists have been busy dreaming up experiments and observations designed to detect and understand them. The pace of those efforts will now accelerate, with scientific fame and Nobel prizes now plainly at stake. Discoveries yet to be made about dark matter and dark energy will radically change our understanding of physics, with future generations likely to marvel at our current ignorance.