Scientists still don't know what dark matter is, but thanks to some cosmic advances in 2012, they at least have a better idea of how it works.

One team compiled the largest map of dark matter to date by measuring bent light—an indicator for the presence of invisible dark matter. The map measures a billion light-years across, which sounds massive, but in the grand scheme of things actually covers less than 0.4 percent of the sky. Another team of astrophysicists found a stream of gamma rays smack dab in the middle of the Milky Way, and they are tentatively fingering dark matter as the cause.

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