Uncovering the Nature of Dark Matter with Stellar Streams in the Milky Way - Dr. Ana Bonaca

Globular clusters are large sphere-shaped congregations of stars that gradually lose their members to form long, thin stellar streams. In pristine conditions, these streams have a nearly uniform density; however, recent observations of such structures in the Milky Way have revealed disturbances that suggest a close encounter with a massive and dense perturber, quite likely a clump of dark matter. This discovery opens the exciting possibility that detailed observations of stellar streams could finally shed light on the elusive nature of dark matter-one of the hottest topics in astronomy today.
Ana Bonaca - Staff Scientist at Carnegie Science Observatories
April 1, 2024
Image Caption:
Close to a hundred stellar streams have been discovered in the outer regions of our Milky Way galaxy. High-resolution observations of streams allow us to illuminate dark matter, an unknown, invisible substance that makes up 85% of all the matter in the Universe.
Image: Ana Bonaca, Adrian Price-Whelan, Rodrigo Ibata