Galaxy without dark matter challenges scientific theories
NGC1052-DF2 appears to be lacking the mysterious substance

Scientists are baffled after discovering the existence of an “unusually transparent” galaxy that appears to contain no dark matter.
The “ghost” galaxy, known as NGC1052-DF2, is some 65 million light-years away and about the size of the Milky Way. And according to a new study published in the journal Nature, it contains no more than 1/400th of the amount of dark matter that astronomers had expected.
“The absence of dark matter from a small patch of sky might appear to be a non-problem, given that astronomers have never directly observed dark matter anywhere,” says The Guardian.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, the newspaper continues, most current theories of the physics of the universe suggest that where regular matter is found, dark matter must also be present, with the latter dominating at a ratio of 5:1.
As it has greater mass than normal matter, dark matter is believed to be vital in holding the necessary gas together while galaxies are forming, explains the BBC.
“In other words, no dark matter, no galaxy,” says National Geographic.
The discovery of an apparent exception to that rule, NGC1052-DF2, therefore poses major questions about our understanding of the universe.
“Finding a galaxy without dark matter is unexpected, because this invisible, mysterious substance is the most dominant aspect of any galaxy,” said lead study author Pieter van Dokkum, from Yale University. “Something like this has never been seen. NGC1052-DF2 challenges the standard ideas of how we think galaxies form.”
A team from the Connecticut-based university used the Hubble Space Telescope to closely observe the galaxy, measuring its distance from Earth and looking at the star clusters within.
“I spent an hour just staring at the Hubble image," said van Dokkum, the Nasa website reports. “It’s so rare, particularly these days after so many years of Hubble, that you get an image of something and you say, ‘I’ve never seen that before.’
“This thing is astonishing: a gigantic blob that you can look through. It’s so sparse that you see all of the galaxies behind it. It is literally a see-through galaxy.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - May 10, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and more
-
5 streetwise cartoons about defunding PBS
Cartoons Artists take on immigrant puppets, defense spending, and more
-
Dark chocolate macadamia cookies recipe
The Week Recommends These one-bowl cookies will melt in your mouth
-
How to see the Lyrid meteor shower
The explainer A nice time to look to the skies
-
Full moon calendar: dates and times for every full moon this year
In depth When to see the lunar phenomenon every month
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocket
Speed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes
-
Space ads could be coming to a sky near you
Under the radar Making space for commercial profits
-
We could be living in a black hole
Under the radar And our universe may not be the only one
-
Dark energy may not doom the universe, data suggests
Speed Read The dark energy pushing the universe apart appears to be weakening
-
Chile's stargazing 'dark skies' are under threat
Under The Radar New chemical plant could spoil celebrated astronomical stronghold
-
Life after space: how will Nasa's stranded astronauts cope?
In the Spotlight Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore are headed back to Earth after nine months on the ISS – but their greatest challenge may still lie ahead