Cosmic Hide and Seek

Smithsonian Insider’s recently released an article addressing approximately 130 billion masses of solar materials are unaccounted for within the Milky Way.

Featured in their piece, is Harvard-Smithsonian research associate, Fabrizio Nicastro, from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). Nicastro lead the “cosmic game of hide and seek” for the missing galactic mass, and provided instrumental insight regarding where scientists should begin to look for answers. According to Insider, answers may become clearer with the expected information gained from the upcoming space mission known as X-ray Surveyor, which will identify more intricate details regarding our Milky Way’s missing solar mass, by searching previously unidentifiable particles.

For more information, see the Smithsonian Insider’s feature on the Milky Way’s missing mass, here.

This rendering of the Milky Way, by artist Mark A. Garlick illustrates how it may have appeared approximately 6 million years ago.