The Elephant in the Universe: Our Hundred-Year Search for Dark Matter

For nearly one hundred years, scientists have been moving step by step towards the idea that the substance from which all matter in the Universe is made — atoms, planets, galaxies, nebulae, and even ourselves — is insignificant regarding space. The nature of most matter must lie in a mysterious substance that defies our imagination. Scientists have named it dark matter.
Dark matter is not a collection of dim stars, nor a pervasive dark intergalactic gas; dark matter is not composed of black holes or ordinary atoms. Dark matter, the invisible glue that holds the Universe together and drives its motion. The Elephant in the Universe is a gripping thriller that tells the story how scientists — both leading researchers and scientific rebels — have clashed over dark matter and tried to detect it. Govert Schilling explains the complex astrophysical theories of ΛCDM and MOND in an accessible way, analyses WIMP and MACHO — candidates for dark matter — and talks about the latest technologies and experiments that are bringing us closer to understanding what this mysterious substance really is.

Govert Schilling. The Elephant in the Universe: Our Hundred-Year Search for Dark Matter / Translated from English by Andrey Dambis. Editor Serafima Dovgan. — Moscow: Led, 2025.