Unraveling the Milky Way's Mysterious Warp: Harvard Astronomers Shed Light on Dark Matter and Galactic Collisions

Harvard astronomers have provided the first calculations explaining the warped shape of the Milky Way, attributing it to an irregular dark matter halo. Their findings support the hypothesis of a past galactic collision and offer insights into the nature of dark matter. The study suggests that the tilt of the dark matter halo provides an elegant explanation for the wobbly disk of the galaxy. The research may also provide clues about the properties and particle nature of dark matter, contributing to a better understanding of the universe's most abundant but unobservable component.