Ideas worth spreading

La búsqueda de la materia oscura que le da forma al universo

1,927,054 views |

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein |

TED2022

• April 2022

El universo que conocemos, con sus estrellas luminosas y planetas orbitando, está hecho en su mayoría de elementos que no podemos ver y, en consecuencia, entender -- como la energía oscura y la materia oscura --. La física teórica Chanda Prescod-Weinstein nos lleva a través de la búsqueda de esta materia invisible que da forma al universo, y nos explica cómo, con la ayuda de una nueva generación de telescopios, podríamos estar más cerca que nunca de desmitificarla. "El universo es más extraño y fantástico de lo que se ve a simple vista," dice. (Si desean saber más sobre Prescod-Weinstein, revisen su episodio en "The TED Interview" podcast.)

El universo que conocemos, con sus estrellas luminosas y planetas orbitando, está hecho en su mayoría de elementos que no podemos ver y, en consecuencia, entender -- como la energía oscura y la materia oscura --. La física teórica Chanda Prescod-Weinstein nos lleva a través de la búsqueda de esta materia invisible que da forma al universo, y nos explica cómo, con la ayuda de una nueva generación de telescopios, podríamos estar más cerca que nunca de desmitificarla. "El universo es más extraño y fantástico de lo que se ve a simple vista," dice. (Si desean saber más sobre Prescod-Weinstein, revisen su episodio en "The TED Interview" podcast.)

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Check out the International Dark Sky Association and learn how to help protect everyone's right to a dark night sky. Advocate for dark skies in your community!

Check out the JustSpace Alliance and learn about opposing colonialism in space,

About the speaker

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Theoretical physicist

See speaker profile

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein plumbs the deepest corners of the universe to uncover the hiding places of dark matter -- and the secret origins of the cosmos.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein | Bold Type Books, 2022 | Book

The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred

Prescod-Weinstein shares her love for physics, from the Standard Model of Particle Physics and what lies beyond it, to the physics of melanin in skin, to the latest theories of dark matter — along with a perspective informed by history, politics and the wisdom of Star Trek.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein | Scientific American, 2022 | Article

"Are Telescopes the Only Way to Find Dark Matter?"

Prescod-Weinstein takes us along on a journey through dark matter searches, from experiments here on Earth to searches of the night sky. She shares what we know, what we don't know and what we hope to learn soon about the invisible stuff that makes up most of the universe's gravitating matter.

| Explore

Vera C. Rubin Observatory

As discussed in the talk, next-generation ground telescopes like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory near La Serena, Chile will be key tools to discovering characteristics of the dark matter that shaped how we went from the very early universe to the complex structures of galaxy clusters and galaxies that make up all that we can see in the sky.

| Explore

NASA's STROBE-X mission

STROBE-X is a proposed space-based X-ray observatory optimized for the study of matter in the most extreme conditions found in the universe. It addresses several key science areas including neutron stars, which can serve as laboratories for hypothetical dark matter particles.

Vera Rubin | Copernicus Books, 1996 | Book

Bright Galaxies Dark Matters

From the scientist who provided some of the first evidence of the existence of dark matter, this book is a collection of essays on a variety of astrophysical subjects, especially galaxies and dark matter.

Risa Wechsler and Jeremy Tinker | Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2018 | Article

"The Connection Between Galaxies and Their Dark Matter Halos"

A review of techniques for connecting observations from telescopes to computer-based simulations of how dark matter forms halos around galaxies, and how this informs galaxy formation.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Sarah Tuttle, Lucianne Walkowicz, and Brian Nord | Scientific American, 2021 | Article

"The James Webb Space Telescope Needs to be renamed"

An explanation of some of the problems with the legacy of James Webb as the name of the telescope. In addition, JustSpace Alliance released a short documentary on the topic.

Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Check out the International Dark Sky Association and learn how to help protect everyone's right to a dark night sky. Advocate for dark skies in your community!

Check out the JustSpace Alliance and learn about opposing colonialism in space,