Missing Matter Found: Fast Radio Bursts Solve a Cosmic Mystery

Most of the universe's matter is dark, undetectable except through its gravity. Of the remaining ordinary matter, about half had been mysteriously missing. A new study uses fast radio bursts (FRBs) – brief, bright flashes of radio waves from deep space – to illuminate this missing matter for the first time. The research reveals that this matter primarily resides in the space between galaxies (76%), with smaller amounts in galactic halos (15%) and within galaxies themselves. This discovery confirms cosmological simulations and opens new avenues for studying galaxy formation and neutrino mass.