The Hunt for Dark Matter: Test Your Cosmic Knowledge (Trivia Quiz)

The Hunt for Dark Matter: A Trivia Quiz

From galaxy rotation curves that don't match Newtonian expectations to gravitational lensing that bends starlight into ghostly arcs, astronomers and physicists have gathered mounting clues that most of the universe's mass is invisible. Dark matter remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in modern science.

Researchers — from particle physicists to cosmologists — have built vast underground detectors, launched space observatories, and proposed a range of new particles and objects to explain this invisible stuff. Proposed candidates include weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), axions, and compact objects, and searches use three main approaches: direct detection, indirect detection, and production at colliders.

What this quiz covers

• The historical clues that led scientists to infer dark matter (from Fritz Zwicky to Vera Rubin).
• Key observational evidence such as galaxy rotation curves, gravitational lensing, and the cosmic microwave background.
• Main theoretical ideas and particle candidates.
• Major experiments and search strategies — underground detectors, space missions, and collider experiments.

Whether you're a seasoned space enthusiast or just curious about the universe's greatest unknown, this quiz will challenge your knowledge of how we discovered dark matter, the theories that try to explain it, and the cutting-edge experiments designed to catch it in the act.

Try the quiz below and see how well you score!