Could This Be The Signal Of Dark Matter? Unsure Scientists Checking This Out

Sometimes a strange signal comes from the dark and it takes a while to figure out what that signal means. In this case, scientists analyzing high-energy gamma rays emanating from the galaxy’s center found an unexplained source of emission that they say is “consistent with some forms of dark matter.”

The data came courtesy of NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and was analyzed by a group of independent scientists. They found that by removing all known sources of gamma rays, they were left with gamma-ray emissions that so far, they cannot explain. More observations will be needed to characterize these emissions, they cautioned.

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Hi CN,

I heard about the possible dark matter gamma ray signal from Fermi and from Pamela when I attended the international conference on high energy physics in Melbourne in July 2012.

To summarise what was said then. Yes this could be the signal for dark matter, the wavelength is right, but the strength is much weaker than expected, which left everyone scratching their heads.

Here’s an early blog on the topic from May 2011. fermi-confirms-pamela

I also need to add that discovering the nature of the WIMP responsible for dark matter is THE most important unsolved problem in physics, now that the Higgs has been found.