3 Sept 2026 The World, the Universe and Us
Dark matter particles may have finally been spotted for the first time. LUX-ZEPLIN is the most sensitive dark matter detector on Earth – and what it’s discovered has the potential, if confirmed, to shake up all of physics.

Despite making up about 85 per cent of the universe, dark matter has been notoriously difficult to spot. WIMPs, or weakly-interacting massive particles, are the leading theory to explain dark matter. That’s what this new, powerful detector has been built to search for.

To explain how LZ works and what it means if its results are supported, Rowan Hooper is joined by space reporter Leah Crane.

Image Credits:
Dark Matter illustration: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/J. Pinto, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/… via Wikimedia Commons

Dark matter gif: Hyper Suprime-Cam Survey, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…, via Wikimedia Commons

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