Unveiling Cosmic Mysteries: Dark Matter and Black Holes in the Universe

Cosmologists are using the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation to map the distribution of both ordinary matter and dark matter in the universe. The CMB light has been stretched, squeezed, and warped by all the matter in its way, leaving detectable imprints on its magnification and color. By examining CMB data taken by the European Space Agency’s Planck satellite and the ground-based Atacama Cosmology Telescope, scientists have been able to measure the alignment of ordinary matter and dark matter, providing estimates for the strength and temperature of the dispersing blasts. These insights are helping to settle some long-standing cosmological mysteries and pose some new ones.