On and around October 31, 2017, the world celebrated the hunt for the unseen—something that scientists refer to as dark matter. Local events organized by institutions and individuals around the planet explored its mysteries, and highlighted the experiments that could bring us closer to solving them. Stay tuned for information about Dark Matter Day 2018.
Less than 5 percent of the total mass and energy in the universe is the stuff we know about: like stars, planets, galaxies, and gases.
Dark matter makes up about 85 percent of the total mass of the universe, and about a quarter (26.8 percent) of the universe’s total mass and energy. Almost 70 percent (68.3 percent) of the universe’s mass and energy is composed of dark energy, another big mystery to scientists that is causing the accelerated expansion of the universe.
Dark matter allows galaxies to spin at a faster-than-expected rate without unraveling and flinging matter off into surrounding space. It could be undiscovered particles swirling around our cosmos or a huge glitch in our understanding of gravity and the fundamental laws of physics—we don’t know. A host of innovative experiments are hunting for the source of dark matter using mile-deep detectors, powerful particle beams, and even space-based telescopes.
Dark Matter Day is a globally recognized celebration of this cosmic riddle. It is sponsored by the Interactions Collaboration, an international community of particle physics communication specialists. Dark Matter Day was recognized around the globe on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, as a day of intrigue and inquiry into the true nature of dark matter. Local events featured science experts, activities, and film presentations.
Dark Matter Day is also planned in 2018! You can sign up here to learn about upcoming Dark Matter Day 2018 events.
While Dark Matter Day was celebrated for the first time that year, it is not the first worldwide event to raise awareness about dark matter. In December 2010, for example, SISSA (the International School for Advanced Studies) in Trieste, Italy, organized Dark Matter Awareness Week to broadly share information about dark matter with scientists working in many different fields.
