What's out there? Invisible floating objects in space baffle scientists
Pulsars, the highly magnetized remnants of dead stars, emanate extremely steady flashes of light. However, sometimes there are fleeting moments of delay in these flashes. These irregularities suggest that massive invisible objects may be passing in front of the pulsars. John LoSecco, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, has advised against prematurely labeling these objects. "Just call them mass concentrations because, just by looking in the radio, you can't determine what they are," he said.
Cataloging mysterious masses in space
LoSecco's team is cataloging these mysterious masses using data from seven global radio telescopes. "There were 12 candidates and they come from eight independent pulsars," he revealed. The research could potentially shed light on dark matter, which is believed to constitute 85% of the universe's total matter. The team utilizes the movement of Earth, Sun, pulsar and even dark matter itself to observe deviations in arrival time, caused by changes in distance between the observed mass and their 'clock' pulsar.
Invisible masses: Potential candidates for dark matter?
One such invisible mass measured one-fifth of the Sun's mass, leading LoSecco to suggest that it "could be a candidate for dark matter." However, he admitted that more research is needed to confirm what is causing these discrepancies in pulsar signals. "The true nature of dark matter is a mystery," LoSecco stated. He believes this research could provide insights into the nature and distribution of dark matter in the Milky Way, and potentially improve the accuracy of precision pulsar data.
