Chinese dark matter probe satellite, 'Dark Matter Particle Explorer' (DAMPE) has detected mysterious signals from deep in the space, which scientists believe could be the first step to prove the existence of dark matter or the so-called cosmic ghosts which perplexed astronomers for years.
A solid proof of dark matter?
The satellite named Wukong or Monkey King recorded more than 3.5 billion cosmic ray particles with the highest energy up to 100 tera-electron-volts of around a trillion times the levels of visible light. The recorded tantalizing signal includes 20 million electrons and positrons. Experts claim that this finding will take scientists a step closer to unveil the mysteries surrounding the invisible dark matter.
"This is the first time a space experiment has reported a detailed and precise electron and positron spectrum up to about 5 TeV. In this energy range, we found some unexpected and interesting features," said Chief scientist Chang Jin, Xinhua reports.
Even though the existence of dark matter has never been proved, scientists claim that more than 85 percent of our Universe is made up of this element. The concept became popular when in Hollywood movie 'Star Trek', it was depicted as the energy used by spaceships which travel across galaxies.
The controversy
Earlier, a team of researchers at the University of Geneva's Faculty of Science claimed that dark matter and dark energy never existed in space at all. The research team headed by Andre Maeder, an astronomy professor at the University of Geneva said that the behavior of Universe can easily be explained without dark matter.
The astronomy professor also claimed that theories put forward by Einstein and Newton regarding the behavior of Universe are ignoring the properties of empty space.
