Scientists have created the most detailed map ever made of dark matter, revealing how it shaped the formation of stars, galaxies, and planets. Based on observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the map shows how the gravity from dark matter pulled normal matter together, creating the template for how galaxies are spread across the universe.

The map covers a patch of sky in the constellation Sextans. Researchers used roughly 255 hours of data from the Webb telescope to pinpoint dark matter by measuring how its mass bends passing light, a process known as gravitational lensing. Astronomers from Durham University, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne led the study, which was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.