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MOND theories seem by far most popular on Internet forums nowadays! There are just so many "But what if they are wrong and dark matter doesn't even exist, if th

by jug 5y ago

MOND theories seem by far most popular on Internet forums nowadays! There are just so many "But what if they are wrong and dark matter doesn't even exist, if they can't explain it..." that it's quite overwhelming! It is not as simple as this. In fact, modifying gravity to fit the set of observations here is so hard that most scientists have just given up on it by now. I mean, it looks like dark matter comes and goes, clumps together... But I think this is ultimately a good thing. I'm pretty sure we're on the right path here with several decent explanations to dark matter, like sterile neutrinos or axions. Some candidates are testable today and bright people are working on it right now. Dark matter feels like one of those things that may suddenly see a path towards being solved within years, but that it might also take much longer time.

dnautics 5y ago
> In fact, modifying gravity to fit the set of observations here is so hard that most scientists have just given up on it by now. Wait what? I was under the impression that more scientists are turning to MOND than ever. I have a hot take prediction that in 5-10 years MOND will be the preferred explanation over LCDM. Sterile neutrinos were ruled out late last year. Axions were ruled out a decade? ago... Though I guess "revised" axions are still on the table; IIRC last year another huge swath of axion masses were ruled out.