Accelerating Galactic Archaeology

Project description

Uncovering the nature of dark matter with stellar streams

Dark matter has never been detected, yet gives itself away by its gravitational pull on stars and galaxies. Stellar streams, remnants of smaller galaxies that have been torn apart by the gravitational force of the Milky Way, are particularly susceptible to the effects of dark matter. The EU-funded project GREATDIGINTHESKY will develop analysis techniques to enable scientists to combine data from all relevant astronomical surveys with Gaia’s future data releases. The aim is to identify 100 galactic star streams throughout the project duration. These ground-breaking studies will help scientists test gravity and dark matter theories and probe dark matter substructure and distribution in our galaxy.

Field of science

/natural sciences/physical sciences/astronomy/astrophysics/dark matter
/natural sciences/physical sciences/astronomy/galactic astronomy

Funding Scheme

ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant

Host institution

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS

Address

Rue Michel Ange 3
75794 Paris
France

Activity type

Research Organisations

EU contribution

€ 2 472 738

Website

Contact the organisation

Beneficiaries (1)

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS

France