HALO OF DARK MATTER MAY BE SURROUNDING THE EARTH

 
Is Earth HEAVIER than we think? GPS satellites suggest a halo of dark matter is surrounding our planet

Ever since scientists have theorised that dark matter exists, concrete evidence of the elusive substance has continued to confound them.  Now, data from a number of GPS satellites suggest that a halo of the strange matter may be surrounding Earth, causing our planet to be heavier than first believed.

 

From his calculations, Professor Ben Harris from Texas University claims this halo could affect the Earth's gravity and that the planet could be 0.005 and 0.008 per cent heavier than the mass established by the International Astronomical Union.

 

Dark matter is considered crucial to theories explaining how the universe is expanding and how galaxies interact.  It is thought to make up 27 per cent of the universe, but despite huge amounts of funding and research effort, experiments have so far failed to confirm its presence.

 

In 2009, researchers at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, argued that changes in the speeds of space probes as they flew past the Earth could be explained by dark matter bound by Earth's gravity.  The theory has now been put to the test by Professor Ben Harris at the University of Texas, according to a report by Anil Ananthaswamy in New Scientist.

 

DARK MATTER

 

-  Dark matter accounts for around 27 per cent of the universe.
-  It surrounds galaxies across the universe, and is invisible because it does not reflect light.
-  It cannot be seen directly with telescopes, but astronomers know it to be out there because of the gravitational effects it has on the matter we can see.
-  Galaxies, for example, could not rotate the way they do and hold their shape without the presence of dark matter, researchers say.
-  The European Space Agency said: 'Shine a torch in a completely dark room, and you will see only what the torch illuminates.
-  'That does not mean that the room around you does not exist.
-  'Similarly we know dark matter exists but have never observed it directly.'
-  Scientists are fairly sure it exists and is crucial to the universe, but they do not know what it looks like or where to find it.

 

Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2533148/Is-Earth-HEAVIER-think-GPS-satellites-suggest-halo-dark-matter-surrounding-planet.html

RELATED

Dark Matter and Dark Energy archive at Science Daily News
http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/dark_matter/


NASA - What are Dark Matter and Dark Energy?
http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/


More on Dark Matter and Dark Energy on this blog
http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/Dark%20Matter%20and%20Dark%20Energy

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