"Twenty years ago, the story of our Universe took an unexpected turn, when dark matter's existence was confirmed empirically within the natural lab of the Universe: through the science of colliding galaxy clusters."
"When two galaxy clusters collide, the normal matter inside would interact, experience friction, heat up, and emit X-rays. However, if dark matter was present, it would pass right through unimpeded."
"The arrival of a direct comparative test changed the story dramatically. The Bullet Cluster provided extraordinarily strong evidence for dark matter's existence, hailed as the first direct empirical proof."
"In the 20 years since, the dark matter explanation has been challenged many times, but each challenge has failed spectacularly."
The confirmation of dark matter's existence occurred 20 years ago through the study of colliding galaxy clusters. Initially, two explanations were considered: modifying gravity or the presence of dark matter. The latter was favored as it could explain observed phenomena without requiring different modifications. The Bullet Cluster provided direct empirical proof of dark matter, showing that while normal matter interacted and emitted X-rays, dark matter passed through unimpeded. Despite numerous challenges to the dark matter explanation over the years, each has failed to disprove its existence.
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