The mystery of dark matter inspires the "Dark" and "Evolving" research themes of CAASTRO. Why do astronomers think that most of the matter in our universe is invisible? Stars and gas orbit around the centers of galaxies just like the planets circle our sun. But unlike our planets, stars far away from galaxy centers move just as quickly as nearby ones. Without the force of gravity from dark matter, distant stars would move more slowly and our galaxy would fly apart!

Credit: CAASTRO/Swinburne Astronomy Productions

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