What Astronomers Just Discovered Between Galaxies Changes Everything
For decades, scientists have known that a massive chunk of the universe's ordinary matter was missing. Not dark matter, the elusive substance that doesn't interact with light, but regular, everyday matter made of atoms.
And now, thanks to a brilliant use of cosmic radio signals, that mystery may finally be solved.
In a new study published in Nature Astronomy, astronomers used fast radio bursts (FRBs)—brief, millisecond-long blasts of energy from deep space—to detect where all that missing matter was hiding: in the vast stretches between galaxies, known as the intergalactic medium.
These FRBs are powerful. Though short-lived, they emit as much energy in one burst as the sun does in 30 years. When they pass through space, they act like cosmic flashlights, lighting up the otherwise invisible gas that floats between galaxies.
The team measured how the light from 69 FRBs slowed as it moved through this matter, allowing them to "weigh" the fog they passed through.
"It's like we're seeing the shadow of all the baryons," explained Caltech assistant professor Vikram Ravi, using the scientific term for this ordinary matter. "With FRBs as the backlight, we now know roughly where the rest of the matter in the universe is hiding."
The results show about 76 percent of the universe's baryonic matter exists in this intergalactic fog. Meanwhile, 15 percent of the baryonic matter surrounds galaxies in halos and just 9 percent resides inside the galaxies themselves.
This breakthrough was made possible by telescopes like Caltech's Deep Synoptic Array and Australia's Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, which helped localize the FRBs' origins. Caltech's upcoming DSA-2000 radio telescope, set to detect 10,000 FRBs per year, could be the key to even deeper cosmological insights.
For astronomers, it's a milestone moment—one that brings us closer to understanding not just where we come from, but how the universe is truly structured.
What Astronomers Just Discovered Between Galaxies Changes Everything first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 17, 2025
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37 minutes ago
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37 minutes ago
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Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not historical in nature, including the words 'advances,' 'aimed,' 'available,' 'believe,' 'build,' 'catalyze,' 'collaborate,' 'commitment,' 'contribute,' 'cutting-edge,' 'delivering,' 'forefront,' 'goal,' 'impactful,' 'ongoing,' 'potential,' 'will,' and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include those related to the IonQ's quantum computing capabilities and plans; IonQ's technology driving commercial quantum advantage; the future impacts of IonQ's offerings available today; and the scalability, fidelity, efficiency, viability, accessibility, effectiveness, importance, reliability, performance, speed, impact, practicality, feasibility, and commercial-readiness of IonQ's offerings. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: IonQ's ability to implement its technical roadmap; changes in the competitive industries in which IonQ operates, including development of competing technologies; IonQ's ability to deliver, and customers' ability to generate, value from IonQ's offerings; IonQ's ability to sell effectively to government organizations and large enterprises; IonQ's ability to implement its business plans, forecasts, roadmaps and other expectations, to identify and realize partnerships and opportunities, and to engage new and existing customers; IonQ's ability to effectively enter new markets; IonQ's ability to deliver services and products within currently anticipated timelines; IonQ's customers deciding or declining to extend contracts into new phases; changes in U.S. government spending or policy that may affect IonQ's customers; and risks associated with U.S. government sales, including availability of funding and provisions that may allow the government to unilaterally terminate or modify contracts for convenience. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's filings, including but not limited to those described in the 'Risk Factors' section of IonQ's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and reports on Form 10-Q. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and IonQ assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. IonQ does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations. IonQ may or may not choose to practice or otherwise use the inventions described in the issued patents in the future. View source version on CONTACT: IonQ Media contact: Jane Mazur [email protected] Investor Contact: [email protected] KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA TEXAS MARYLAND INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE RESEARCH NETWORKS OTHER DEFENSE INTERNET CONTRACTS HARDWARE TECHNOLOGY DEFENSE SEMICONDUCTOR SCIENCE OTHER SCIENCE SOURCE: IonQ Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/30/2025 07:05 AM/DISC: 06/30/2025 07:05 AM
