The Future

Even though we have detected what could be the signature for dark matter annihilation the search does not stop. The elusive positrons thought to be the byproduct of WIMP collision must have the right energy signature in order to be considered as a potential source.  The goal of researches is now to continue gathering all the evidence possible with every means available while studying and interpreting the data to rule out potential theories and eventually find a way to directly observe dark matter. These methods include the previously mentioned AMS particle detector and the Large Hadron Collider but there are also particle detectors underground that measure in a different way. The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, The CoGeNT detector, and the most promising XENON experiment are the future of dark matter detection. With all of these ways to potentially detect dark matter we still have to accept the possibility that we are completely wrong and must rethink our concept of the Universe. Though the search for dark matter could be inconclusive we are still collecting new data that is exciting to learn and could lead to other important findings. Below is the most recent observation that is still under speculation.

"An intriguing signal could be due to “dark matter annihilations” pops up on the left of this data gathered by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The image on left shows the galactic center in gamma rays with energies between 1 and 3.16 GeV. Red indicates the most activity, and the labels are for pulsars. The image at right has all known gamma-ray sources removed. Credit: T. Linden, Univ. of Chicago"
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/110978/could-this-be-the-signal-of-dark-matter-unsure-scientists-checking-this-out/#ixzz31b8iT6IEhttp://www.universetoday.com/110978/could-this-be-the-signal-of-dark-matter-unsure-scientists-checking-this-out/
http://news.discovery.com/space/dark-matter-found-orbital-experiment-130403.htm
http://news.discovery.com/space/dark-matter-debate-heats-up-again-110505.htm
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130225-will-we-understand-dark-matter

Discovery

In most aspects of life patience and perseverance pay off. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) placed on the International Space Station has collected the data of many passing particles that could potentially shed light on the existence of dark matter. They believe that the weakly interacting massive particles, the most common theory about what dark matter consists of, could collide in the same way that normal matter does and give off a detectable energy. There are also other detectors looking for these interactions on Earth. There is of course the possibility of observing what is already out there but the Large Hadron Collider could be used in the attempt to make dark matter under controlled conditions. The picture below shows the AMS which is responsible for the detection of what is hopefully the signature of dark matter annihilation. We cannot try one method alone since we do not know the extent of what we are looking for. It is possible that there could be more discoveries that show dark matter to be something completely different than what we estimate. Time and new methods will help to further the information we have. 

http://www.space.com/20499-dark-matter-space-station-ams.html
http://news.discovery.com/space/dark-matter-mystery-could-be-solved-in-10-years-140127.htm

Progress

With many questions still arising, there are some that lead us closer to the answer. It is important to start small and work off of what we know. We know that dark matter is not anything that we have encountered before but we do know its effects on the matter we are familiar with. Not only does it have a gravitational effect on its surroundings but it also distorts light as it tries to pass through it. This is how we begin to form the map of dark matter. Even though we cannot detect it in the same way as normal matter, dark matter gives us clues to where it is from its behavior. Below is the newest and largest map of known dark matter. The smaller color square is the previous map and compared to the full moon. So now we have a clearer view of its presence but we are still searching for its substance. Every small step takes us closer to a great discovery. This step has us heading in the direction of finding out the specific mass of dark matter particles which is key to determining what it is made of.

http://www.space.com/14176-dark-matter-biggest-map-unveiled.html
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2012/2012/42/results/100/

The Beginning

The substance known as Dark Matter has many intelligent minds asking serious questions about the properties of the Universe. No one knows for sure what it could consist of but there are more theories emerging as more observations are made. Only recently has this idea been developed since it was discovered. Dark Matter is called such because it does not emit light, obviously making it difficult to see in the shadows of super luminous stars. What we do see is its gravitational force on the objects around it. This is most notable in the rotation of spiral galaxies. Based on the accepted laws of motion, the outer stars in a galaxy should move slower than those closer to the center. However, observations have shown that the galaxy rotates at a relatively consistent speed. This is a main theory for the presence of Dark Matter. Since it is moving there must be something acting on it that we are unable to see. It is thought to be made up of either matter that we know (baryonic aka protons neutrons and electrons) such as dim white dwarfs, brown dwarfs and neutron stars. A more likely scenario is that it is made up of matter that is unknown to us (non-baryonic) and of which we do not have a way of detecting. The graph below shows the calculated rotation of the galaxy compared to what was actually measured. This observation is reason enough to ask the questions and to find the cause for this anomaly.

 

http://oneminuteastronomer.com/8774/rotating-galaxies-2/

http://www.space.com/20930-dark-matter.html