Dark Matter

Most of the objects in this picture are galaxies (think about that for a bit). The gaseous, white ring you see here is indirect evidence of Dark Matter. Dark Matter is basically matter we think is there, that has a gravitational effect on surrounding "normal" matter, but it does not reflect photons, and thus is invisible to us."Normal" matter is drawn to large collections of Dark Matter - due to gravity - and thus the inference for the existence of dark matter.

For reference, I've posted this before, but here is what scientists think is the makeup of our Universe:

I'll leave the rather large issue of "Dark Energy" for another time (basically, energy we can infer yet cannot detect). But look - all of the "normal" matter we know - hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, anything and everything you see on Earth, in space, is "normal" matter, and yet, it only makes up less than 4% of our Universe. Think about that for a bit, especially in conjunction with the photo above.

Now, what does all this mean? Good question! What does anything mean? What I get from this is our reality, our very existence, is a grand mystery. We can nibble at the edges of this mystery, learning more and more, and yet the mystery is so grand, so large, so all encompassing it seems unlikely we will ever know but a glimmer of the Truth.

And this accords perfectly with a Buddhist outlook on life. That what we think is so real - your computer screen, for example - is nothing what you think it is. We are nothing what you think we are. We are so much more.

My task, as I am coming to realize it, is to spread this awareness. For it is powerful, and I believe can serve as the bridge from our past (tribal mythologies) to our future (universal citizens).

I hope you'll join me in this task.