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Dark Matter Exists

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the not-just-ordinary-matter-anymore dept.

olclops writes "It's a big day for astrophysics. After much speculation, scientists now have conclusive proof of dark matter. This result doesn't rule out alternate gravity theories like MOND, but it does mean those theories will have to account for exotic forms of dark matter."

2 of 459 comments (clear)

  1. Remember Vulcan? ( no, not startrek vulcan ) by Harmonious+Botch · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Remember Vulcan, the planet with an orbit inside of Mercury? It was PROVEN to exist in the late 1800s. The calculations showed that Mercury's orbit required a smaller planet to make Mercury's orbit precess as it did. People even went looking for it with the finest telescopes of the day. And they saw it.
    Then some smart aleck who worked in a patent office came along and showed that space is warped and that Mercury's orbit fits perfectly. Vulcan disappeared, never to be seen again.

    Vulcan had more data in favor of its existence back then than dark matter does now. Pardon me, but I'm as skeptical as parent.

  2. Re:Dark Matters by ceoyoyo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can prove things in math. Math isn't science. Math is a special construct where you make a few assumptions and then spend eternity figuring out what the consequences of those assumptions are. Thus, when you prove something in math you're really saying that X is always true assuming your axioms.

    In science you don't get to make up the axioms. The universe does and we get to try to figure out what they are.