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Could the Milky Way’s Missing Mass Be Hiding in a Swarm of Interstellar Comets?
- Researchers suggest interstellar objects may contribute 13% to 45% of local dark matter density in the Milky Way.
- The estimate uses a Poisson distribution to model the local ISO density based on a few known interstellar visitors.
- The study notes the main weakness is extrapolating from one observed ISO to the entire galaxy population.
- If ISO contributions are real, they could affect direct dark matter detection experiments.
- Upcoming sky surveys are expected to find dozens or hundreds of new interstellar objects.
- The largest known interstellar visitor, 3I/ATLAS, has a radius estimated between 0.16 and 2.8 km, impacting mass calculations.
- ISOs are visible through other means due to their mass, despite being hard to detect.
- The study connects ISO presence to potential revisions of dark matter content in the galaxy’s core.
- Directly referenced surveys like Gaia inform current dark matter density estimates used in the analysis.
- The article frames the ISO hypothesis as a testable possibility with upcoming data.
- The source emphasizes the need for more evidence from future surveys to confirm the theory.
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