Using radio waves generated by high-energy processes outside our galaxy, astronomers have found a solution to the “missing baryon problem,” explaining all the ordinary matter in the universe. (Photo: Melissa Weiss/CfA)
About half of all ordinary matter in the Universe has remained undetected—until now.
In a new study, scientists say they have accounted for all the baryonic matter — the “normal” matter that makes up stars, planets, and other objects that interact with light — that we expect to find in the universe using short, extragalactic flashes known as fast radio bursts (FRBs). Much of the “missing” matter is scattered thinly in the space between galaxies, according to the study, published June 16 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Baryonic matter, made up of particles such as protons and neutrons, makes up just 5% of the universe. Another 27% is invisible dark matter, and the rest is mysterious dark energy, which is driving the universe’s accelerated expansion. However, scientists have only been able to observe about half the expected amount of baryonic matter, which they believe was created in the Big Bang.
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