Being a complete idiot when it comes to actual science, I’m just wondering if the ‘space’ between the seemingly innumerable galaxies shown in these incredibly detailed photographs, is what is referred to as ‘dark matter’ , and if not, then where does dark matter exist, and why’re the galaxies so distinct from each other ?
More than likely it is not dark matter. Current estimates are that about 80% of so of the matter in the universe is dark matter, but we have yet to actually observe it.
That space between the galaxies is…well…space!! Vast, empty (mostly) space. I believe the technical term is “intergalactic space.”
As for why galaxies are so distinct from one another…gravity. They start as clouds of dust and maybe a rogue star here and there, but then gravity kicks in and forms basically everything that we see…the stars, the planets…everything.
The constant expansion of the universe causes the galaxies to move, which I’m guessing is what stops all of them from just slamming into each other. If the universe were contracting, the galaxies would all be moving inward and end up getting balled into one. This is actually part of a hypothesis called the Big Crunch, where the expansion of the universe ends, then it begins contracting, ultimately to a tiny ball and possibly another Big Bang.
As for where dark matter exists…we aren’t exactly sure. In fact, we aren’t entirely sure it does exist, but we assume that it does because of the way galaxies act. Basically, the way that gravitational forces exist in the universe are stronger than the visible matter should allow. So, if there is something else impacting the way the gravity works, then there has to be a form of matter that we don’t understand yet. That is dark matter. There are several ideas as to what it could actually be, but until we are able to observe it, we don’t really have any idea.
blogs.nasa.gov
www.wtamu.edu
www.space.com
webbtelescope.org
