Axios reports on the scientific search for dark matter and dark energy. The newest tool is the European Space Agency’s Euclid spacecraft, which was launched on July 1 on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket, according to the New York Times.
Axios says:
Light from galaxies can be distorted by clumps of dark matter as it travels across the universe. From that data, scientists can create a map of dark matter in the universe at different times. What that distortion looks like can also help scientists determine if dark matter is made of heavy or light particles — information that can help to hone the search for dark matter candidates in particle accelerators on Earth.
The New York Times says:
Euclid’s maps of the cosmos will reveal how dark matter is distributed across space-time based on how it warps the light from galaxies behind it, an effect known as weak gravitational lensing. (That’s distinct from strong gravitational lensing, more dramatic warping by galactic clusters that creates arcs, rings, or even multiple images of a single source.)