News Astronomy

Galaxies’ missing mass may hide in gas clouds

Huge amounts of cold matter surround star-containing regions, study finds

HIDDEN GAS  Galaxies like Messier 81, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major, are surrounded by vast quantities of cold, nonluminous gas, a new study finds.

JPL-Caltech/NASA and S. Willner/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA

By Gabriel Popkin

- More than 2 years ago

OXON HILL, Md. — Vast reservoirs of previously undetected gas account for much of galaxies’ mass, according to research presented January 7 at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.