Direct Observations

We observed galaxies M81 and M82 through a 12in Newtonian reflecting telescope:

This is spiral galaxy M81 photographed using visible light. Through the 12in telescope the galaxy appeared as a small patch of bright sky.

This is an image of M81 made in the x-ray spectrum of light.  George Lake proposed that Weekly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) weighing around several GeV would emit gamma rays as a result of their annihilation (Lake, 39).  Note the nearly homogeneous distribution of x-rays from M81 compared to the bulge centered distribution of visible light.

This is a visible light image of galaxy M82 located near M81 in the celestial sphere.  M82 is an irregular galaxy that has no specific shape.

All images courtesy of the University of Alabama department of astronomy and physics.

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