NASA's fermi finds possible dark matter ties in andromeda galaxy
NASA's Fermi telescope has detected a gamma-ray excess at the center of the Andromeda galaxy that's similar to a signature Fermi previously detected at the center of our own Milky Way. Watch to learn more. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Wiessinger, producer
Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light, produced by the universe's most energetic phenomena.
They're common in galaxies like the Milky Way because cosmic rays, particles moving near the speed of light, produce gamma rays when they interact with interstellar gas clouds and starlight.
Surprisingly, the latest Fermi data shows the gamma rays in Andromeda — also known as M31 — are confined to the galaxy's center instead of spread throughout.
To explain this unusual distribution, scientists are proposing that the emission may come from several undetermined sources.
One of them could be dark matter, an unknown substance that makes up most of the universe.
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