Data from a large particle detector hint that related particles called WIMPs, Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, may indeed exist, but the result is controversial and is still being tested. How much WIMPs might contribute to the dark matter is unknown.
Now that we understand more about dark matter we can evaluate the possibility that the halos of galaxies contain large numbers of very-low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, or planets too faint to see. These MACHOs, for Massive Compact Halo Objects, can be detected if they pass between our telescopes on Earth and a distant star. |
