Is a lot of mass unaccounted for in the universe? If so, why? Where is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When author Bill Bryson set out to understand the great scientific discoveries about our universe, he ran into some unsolved mysteries. One of them is the missing mass problem, and he discusses it in his book A Short History of Nearly Everything<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep reading to learn about missing mass, including the question of whether the mass is actually missing or whether the current theory is off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Bryson explains that scientists can use general relativity to calculate the mass of the universe based on the observed motion of galaxies and other objects within the universe. But, when they do, the number they get is 10 to 100 times greater than the total estimated mass of all the stars, galaxies, and other objects that they can detect in the universe. Hence, the missing mass problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Bryson, no one knows for sure how to account for this discrepancy, although most scientists favor one of two possible explanations. One explanation holds that missing mass consists of objects that just don\u2019t emit or reflect enough light for astronomers to detect: distant asteroids, dim stars, black holes, and so forth. The other explanation is that there\u2019s a type of matter that interacts only through gravity, making it fundamentally impossible to detect except by observing its gravitational influence on visible matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Missing Mass Problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n