For years, the greatest minds in astrophysics have grappled with the 'missing mass' question. They knew that universe contained more mass than was visible in planets, stars and other objects - but they didn't know where to find it.
But an Australian undergraduate has been able to crack the scientific conundrum in a matter of weeks this summer.
Amelia Fraser-McKelvie, 22, discovered the missing material after spending a holiday internship with a team of researchers at Monash University's School of Physics.
The aerospace engineering student conducted a targeted X-ray search of vast structures known as 'filaments of galaxies', which stretch across the vast expanse of space.
Examining data that the research team had already gathered, her analysis of the material confirmed that mass was present in the filaments.
Monash astrophysicist Dr Kevin Pimbblet explained that scientists had previously detected matter that had been present in the early history of the universe but that could not now be located.
He added that astrophysicists had known about the missing mass for the past two decades, but the technology needed to pinpoint its location had only become available in recent years.
'We don't know where it went. Now we do know where it went because that's what Amelia found,' he said.
He said the discovery could drive the construction of new telescopes designed to specifically study the mass. Read More
