Something is tearing apart star cluster closest to Solar System

The field of Astronomy has made progress by leaps and bounds. We not only peer deep into space but also theorise to find answers to questions such as how the universe came to be and what lies in future.

With the tremendous knowledge and technology we have today, it is hard to believe that there are things that are still unknown to us.

We think we know it all, but the universe always has something up its sleeve to surprise us every time.

A new analysis of Gaia satellite data has revealed that the closest star cluster to our Solar System is being torn apart due to some reason. Scientists believe that gravitational pull from something massive is causing this.

We do not know what this is.

Scientists think that dark matter is causing the star cluster to fall apart.

What is dark matter?

'Normal' matter is the one we can see, feel and so on. But dark matter is a tricky thing as is not possible to see or feel it. This becomes its detection very hard.

Scientists and researchers can only predict presence of dark matter by looking for effects of its gravitational pull on nearby 'visible' matter.

It has been said that dark matter makes up 80 per cent of all matter in the universe. Dark matter is considered to be important for the formation of galaxies.

It is possible, as per the scientists that dark matter may be the reason why the closest star structure to our solar system is being torn apart.