Where did the universe's missing ordinary matter go?

Space · Published 11 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Physicists have long faced a cosmic accounting problem: the amount of ordinary matter observed in stars and galaxies today is significantly lower than what models of the early universe predict. This discrepancy suggests a massive amount of matter has vanished from our sight, hiding in the vast voids between galaxies.

Data regarding the nascent cosmos suggests that invisible dark matter constituted about 83 percent of total matter following the Big Bang, while ordinary matter formed the leftover fraction. However, the amount of ordinary matter visible in current stars and galaxies does not match these historical estimates. This conflict has led scientists to search for the 'missing' ordinary matter that should exist but remains unseen.

Researchers from the CHIME/FRB Collaboration, including scientists from MIT, are using fast radio bursts (FRBs) to map this hidden matter. FRBs are ultrabright, millisecond flashes of radio waves from energetic phenomena in the distant universe. As these signals travel toward Earth, they become 'smeared' or stretched in time by the matter they pass through. By measuring the degree of smearing across thousands of signals and comparing them to galaxy locations, the team can distinguish between matter contained within galaxies and matter in the surrounding space.

The study revealed that this missing matter exists in very diffuse clouds that extend far beyond the boundaries of galaxy groups. The findings suggest that matter is flung outside of galaxies by highly energetic processes, such as exploding stars and black hole jets. Notably, these processes appear to be more energetic than previously thought, pushing matter out to much larger scales than scientists had predicted. The research was reported in the journal Physical Review Letters.

In a parallel effort to solve fundamental questions about the universe, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) was developed by a global team of engineers and scientists. Installed on the International Space Station in 2011, the AMS is specifically designed to detect dark matter and explore other core mysteries of the cosmos.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• Where did the universe's missing ordinary matter go?
• Where did all the missing ordinary matter go?
• Where is the missing matter that should exist in our universe?
• Astronomers have finally located the mysterious missing matter hiding in the vast cosmic web
• Cosmologists have finally located the universe's missing matter, but its true nature remains elusive.
• Why is there an unexplained excess of antimatter in our cosmic rays?
• How the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer hunts for the universe's missing matter
• The 30-year mystery of dark matter may have been a mistake
• How scientists hunt for the universe's missing components
• Could Jupiter be the ultimate laboratory for hunting dark matter?
• How the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer hunts for the universe's missing matter
• The galaxy that shouldn't exist according to our current laws

More in Dark matter · More in Space · Latest · A–Z · All topics