Exclusive: Paper by UCL professor says ‘wobbly’ space-time could instead explain expansion of universe and galactic rotation
A photo combining an image of a supercluster with magenta-tinted clumps of an inferred dark matter map derived from observations by Nasa's Hubble space telescope.A photo combining an image of a supercluster with magenta-tinted clumps of an inferred dark matter map derived from observations by Nasa's Hubble space telescope.Dark matter is supposed to account for 85% of the mass in the universe, according to conventional scientific wisdom.
“In the absence of any direct evidence for dark energy or dark matter it is natural to wonder whether they may be unnecessary scientific constructs like celestial spheres, ether, or the planet Vulcan, all of which were superseded by simpler explanations,” it states. “Gravity has a long history of being a trickster.”
The paper claims this take on the universe could explain landmark observations of rotating galaxies that led to the “discovery” of dark matter. Stars at the edges of galaxies, where gravity is expected to be weakest based on visible matter, ought to be rotating more slowly than stars at the centre. But in reality, the orbital motion of stars does not drop off. From this, astronomers inferred the presence of a halo of unseen matter exerting a gravitational pull.
Not everyone is convinced, including the well-known theorists Prof Carlo Rovelli and Prof Geoff Penington, who have signed a 5,000:1 odds bet with Oppenheim against his theory being proven correct.
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