How Facial Recognition Could Unravel Mysteries of the Universe

Artificial intelligence could help astronomers unravel the secrets of dark matter, one of the greatest mysteries of the Cosmos.

Everything we see in the Universe around us — stars, planets, galaxies, and more — totals less than five percent of the total mass and energy that fills the Cosmos. The nature of dark matter and dark energy, which make up the vast majority of everything which exists, remains a mystery.

While dark matter holds galaxies and galaxy clusters together, dark energy fuels the ever-increasing rate at which the Universe expands. Although these effects are visible to astronomers, neither dark matter nor dark energy can be directly observed, making it difficult to study most of the Universe.

One way for astronomers to see the effect of dark matter is by studying the bending of light passing by massive objects, like seen in this image of Abell S 1063, a galactic cluster containing thousands of galaxies. Dark matter can affect light from distant objects, bending it like a lens. By examining this effect, astronomers are able to create maps of dark matter within massive objects like clusters. Image credit: NASA, ESA and M. Montes (University of New South Wales)

“We can use indirect ways to study things, like looking at a shadow and making an educated guess about what’s casting the shadow. One way scientists indirectly study dark matter is by using gravitational lensing. When light from distant stars passes through a galaxy or cluster, the gravity of the matter present in the galaxy or cluster causes the light to bend,” NASA explains.

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