A failed galaxy could solve the dark matter mystery

Short Wave

Cloud 9 is a failed galaxy. It’s a clump of dark matter, called a dark matter halo, that never formed stars. But this failure could be the key to a mystery almost as old as the universe itself: dark matter. Scientists don’t know what dark matter is, but Cloud 9 could offer new clues. Three researchers weigh in on this new discovery and why it could be a missing piece to the story on how the universe formed.


Check out our episode with astrophysicist Jorge Moreno on the mysterious Great Attractor and our summer series on space


Have a scientific question you want us to answer? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
More description
Cloud 9 is a failed galaxy. It’s a clump of dark matter, called a dark matter halo, that never formed stars. But this failure could be the key to a mystery almost as old as the universe itself: dark matter. Scientists don’t know what dark matter is, but Cloud 9 could offer new clues. Three researchers weigh in on this new discovery and why it could be a missing piece to the story on how the universe formed.


Check out our episode with astrophysicist Jorge Moreno on the mysterious Great Attractor and our summer series on space


Have a scientific question you want us to answer? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
2026-01-21 12 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.