Universe’s Last Ordinary Matter Found

Scientists have located the last stock of ordinary matter in between the galaxies where they exist as extremely hot filaments of oxygen gas. These filaments evaded detection for a very long time but as per the scientists this ordinary matter which is also known as baryons form all physical objects, from stars to cores of black holes. Till date, astrophysicists were only able to locate two-third of the matter which has been predicted to be formed by the Big Bang. The lost matter is existing as filaments of oxygen gas which has a temperature of 1 million degree Celsius. About 10 percent of the ordinary matter in the universe sits in galaxies and 60 percent is in the diffused clouds of gas that lie between the galaxies. According to a research in 2012, predictions were made about the missing 30 percent of baryons that they exist in a web like pattern known as warm hot intergalactic medium (WHIM).

In order to look for the missing atoms between galaxies, the team launched a series of satellites at a quasar called 1ES 1553 which is a black hole in the centre of a galaxy swallowing and releasing huge quantity of gas. Researchers can extract a lot of information by documenting the process of how a quasar passes through space. Scientists will need more time to confirm their research by launching satellites at shiny and bright quasars.

By: Swati Kaushal

Content: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/last-of-universes-missing-ordinary-matter-found/articleshow/64729248.cms