 |  | | | | NASA Hubble Space Telescope Detects Ring of Dark Matter
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05.15.07
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Introduction
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a ghostly ring of dark
matter that formed long ago during a titanic collision between two massive galaxy clusters.
The ring's discovery is among the strongest evidence yet that dark matter exists. Astronomers
have long suspected the existence of the invisible substance as the source of additional
gravity that holds together galaxy clusters. Such clusters would fly apart if they relied
only on the gravity from their visible stars. Although astronomers don't know what dark matter
is made of, they hypothesize that it is a type of elementary particle that pervades the universe.
Panelists
+ Dr. Myungkook James Jee, associate research scientist, Johns
Hopkins University, Baltimore
+ Dr. Richard White, astronomer, Space Telescope Science Institute,
Baltimore
+ Dr. Richard Massey, postdoctoral scholar, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena
Resources
Contact Information
Grey Hautaluoma
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC
Phone: 202/358-0668 |
Dwayne Brown
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC
Phone: 202/358-1726
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Donna Weaver
Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, Maryland
Phone: 410/338-4493 |
Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, Maryland
Phone: 410/338-4514 |
Event Information
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT on May 15, 2007 to discuss the strongest evidence to date that dark matter exists. Reporters should contact Ray Villard at the Space Telescope Science Institute at 410-338-4514 prior to the media teleconference for the call in number and passcode. Audio for the briefing will stream live on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio.
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