The Science Of Dark Matter - Sample

THE SCIENCE OF DARK MATTER WRITTEN BY: ILANNA S. MANDEL FADE IN: INT. DEBBIE’S HOME OR OFFICE – NIGHT OR DAY We see Debbie sitting at her computer. The screen displays an image of our galaxy. Debbie turns around and faces the camera. DEBBIE My name is Debbie Berebichez and welcome to the science of everyday life. Today we’re going to explore a fantastic theory of the universe called “Dark Matter”. CUT TO: Various images of the galaxy flash across the screen. Black holes, planets, stars, etc. V.O. Space…the final frontier. (beat) It’s true. Space truly is the final frontier and one of the great mysteries of the universe is called dark Matter. CUT TO: INT. SMALL CAFÉ – DAY Debbie picks up a coffee and muffin and then walks out onto a busy street. DEBBIE (V.O.) One of the great questions about the universe we live in is whether or not dark matter truly exists. EXT. STREET SCENE - CONTINUOUS Debbie is joined by a couple of friends. The three go walking through the park.

ON SCREEN Dark matter was formed from exotic particles formed when the universe was just coming to existence. NASA has actually found evidence that dark matter really exists. CUT TO: Image of the Hubble Telescope http://www.setiai.com/archives/hubble_space_telescope.jpg DEBBIE (V.O.) Using the famous Hubble Telescope they discovered what they called a “ghostly ring” of dark matter which was formed a long time ago – I mean billions of years ago when two galaxies collided into each other. Now, scientists think that dark matter is another force of gravity that holds clusters of galaxies together. CUT TO: INT. COMPUTER STORE – MOMENTS LATER Debbie and a couple of friends are in a computer store. Debbie is pointing to an image on the screen. The image of the Telescope fades into the image found here: (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2007/17/ image/a/format/zoom) DEBBIE (V.O.) This image from the Hubble Telescope Shows us what dark matter looks like. See that ‘ghostly’ ring? Well, that’s dark matter. This large screen helps us appreciate what dark matter is and what it isn’t. Unfortunately, a lot of people confuse dark matter with dark energy and they’re not the same thing.

INT. DEBBIE’S APT. – LATER THAT DAY Debbie is surfing on the Internet and comes up with a few images. The image from here pops up on the screen. DEBBIE (On Screen) These images from the Hubble telescope show the ‘ghostly ring’ that NASA believes is dark matter. So, even though it’s still a controversial subject, we now believe we can see dark matter, although not without the help of technology like the Hubble. EXT. DEBBIE’S BACK YARD – THAT EVENING Debbie is sitting with her laptop and sees this image. http://www.universetoday.com/wpcontent/uploads/2007/01/2007-0108darkmatter.jpg DEBBIE (V.O.) It’s amazing but dark matter may make up almost 85% of our known universe. I brought This 3D image of the way dark matter may have evolved in our universe from 6.5 billion years ago shows us that the more gravitational distortions in an area, the more dark matter there will be. That means gravity and dark matter are connected. There are also several kinds of dark matter. CUT TO: An image of Debbie looking through a telescope. DEBBIE (V.O.) It’s also possible that billions of years ago dark matter was evenly distributed throughout the universe. For some reason masses of dark matter began to clump together in long filaments. For those who’ve never heard of filaments they’re thread like structures and they’re the largest known structures in the

universe. They also form boundaries between voids in the universe. We also know that dark matter can pass right through our bodies because it doesn’t interact with everyday objects or people. Some scientists believe that if it weren’t for dark matter our galaxy wouldn’t exist and neither would we.