Jimmy Westlake's Celestial News column appears Tuesdays in the
Steamboat Today. Find more columns by Westlake here. Steamboat
Springs Did you know the universe has a dark side? You’re
probably more familiar with the bright side of the universe —
the part we can actually see. But like an iceberg that shows
only 10 percent of its mass above the water, the universe
reveals only 4 percent of its total mass and energy in the form
of visible matter that gives off light. The visible stuff in the
universe makes up the familiar planets, stars and galaxies that
we see in space. The remaining 96 percent is invisible and its
exact nature is unknown. Let me emphasize that last statement:
We do not know what 96 percent of the universe is made of. If
that seems a little weird, don’t feel alone. Astronomers find it
very weird, too, and they’re looking at any and all
possibilities, no matter how bizarre, to explain the dark 96
percent of the universe. Ordinary matter, the stuff that you, I
and the stars are made of, is called