Tag: baryons
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Where normal matter really hides in the universe: baryons beyond stars and planets
Introduction: the missing matter mystery When people look up at the night sky or point a telescope at distant galaxies, they see awe-inspiring structures made of stars, planets, and other luminous objects. Yet most of the universe’s ordinary matter—from protons and neutrons that compose atoms—doesn’t live in those bright islands. An active area of research…
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Where the Universe’s Normal Matter Really Lives: Beyond Planets and Stars
The mystery of the missing baryons When we gauge the universe, we count normal matter in the form of baryons—the protons, neutrons and electrons that make up atoms. In the local universe, most of these baryons don’t reside in planets, stars or galaxies. They’re dispersed much more broadly, lurking in the vast spaces between galaxies.…
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Where Normal Matter Really Lives in the Universe: The Cosmic Baryon Census
Beyond the Bright Objects: The Hidden Home of Normal Matter When we gaze at the night sky, we see stars, planets, and distant galaxies. But normal matter—the stuff that makes up stars, planets, people, and everything we know—accounts for only a small fraction of the universe’s total mass-energy. The bulk of ordinary matter is not…