It was only a matter of time before artificial intelligence took on dark matter. A new deep-learning algorithm is set to be unleashed upon images of galaxy clusters in search of the telltale signs of this invisible substance that strangely makes up 85% of all matter in the universe.
According to the standard model of cosmology, every galaxy is surrounded by a halo of dark matter. Similarly, galaxy clusters are suffused inside vast haloes of dark matter, which we can detect indirectly. Scientists are also able to determine dark matter's distribution in a cluster by watching for the way its gravitational influence bends space, therefore creating weak, and sometimes strong, gravitational lenses. Yet, despite the huge volumes of dark matter in the universe, nobody knows what it is made from.
