Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, may be a giant, intergalactic wormhole highway for the rest of the universe to navigate both space and time, according to one new hypothesis from scientists in Italy.
Much like the plot in the recent Christopher Nolan film Interstellar, the team from the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste have hypothesised that the ability to navigate our galaxy through wormholes, as seen in the film, is not without scientific merit.
Lead astrophysicist on the project Paolo Salucci, along with his team, came to this conclusion by combining the equations of general relativity with a detailed map of the distribution of dark matter, all based off science’s current understanding of the Big Bang theory.
Of course, with any bold scientific claim such as wormholes through space and time, there’s quite a lot of ‘buts’ that appear.
Currently, the researchers’ work is nothing but a hypothesis they say does not mean the Milky Way is a space tunnel, but rather that in theory, it can be.
Mysterious neutralino may be the key
Speaking of their hypothesis, Salucci said that in order for the researchers to prove their theory correct, they would have to move the heavens and the Earth. “Obviously we’re not claiming that our galaxy is definitely a wormhole, but simply that, according to theoretical models, this hypothesis is a possibility.
“In principle, we could test it by comparing two galaxies – our galaxy and another very close one like, for example, the Magellanic Cloud, but we are still very far from any actual possibility of making such a comparison.”
They’re not giving up hope however, as Salucci believes the theorised neutralino particle, that has never been observed by mankind, could be the essence of dark matter he believes could be the key to actually creating space tunnels.
“Perhaps it’s time for scientists to take this issue ‘seriously,’” said Salucci. “Dark matter may be ‘another dimension’, perhaps even a major galactic transport system. In any case, we really need to start asking ourselves what it is.”
Wormhole image via Shutterstock
