A BRADFORD professor claims to have solved a long-standing conundrum of almost 100 years, leaving astronomers "gobsmacked".

Professor John Baruch, an academic at Leeds Beckett University, believes he has calculated the mass of the mysterious "missing dark matter" that is said to permeate the universe.

The scientist explains that when you look out into the universe, the stars and galaxies that you see are all being connected by gravity.

But, there is not enough visible "matter" to seal things together.

Prof Baruch outlines that astronomers invented the idea of "dark matter" to fill the gap, but it has been a century-long struggle to try fully explain it.

The 77-year-old now thinks he's discovered a breakthrough.

He said: "Every astronomer in the world knows the problem.

"I've talked to people (about my idea) and they've all been a bit gobsmacked."

Prof Baruch explains that these dark matter particles are interacting with the light from the furthest parts of the universe, which is 1,000 times more energetic than radio waves.

He claims that the difference between the two wave lengths has enabled him to calculate the mass of the "dark matter" particles.

He used the generally accepted theory of the universe which suggests that the dark matter, thought to play a central role in the formation of galaxies, was made up of nuclear particles that so far no-one could find.

Prof Baruch said: “Dark matter has been a problem in astronomy for nearly 100 years and this points to a very realistic potential solution.

“The fact this solution explains the difference between the two expansion rates of the universe is key.

"Now, giving people a value of the mass and density of the dark matter particle will help enormously.

“We didn’t have any idea of the mass of these dark matter particles and whether they existed or not.

"We also had no idea as to why we'd got these very different values for the expansion of the universe.

“If you look at radio wave lengths and optical wave lengths, you get a very different value and the accuracy of these measurements is much better than the differences, and what I’ve done is explain them.

“Finding these particles could also have an impact on theories of the universe.

"What I’m doing is opening a doorway into looking at other alternatives.”

The professor says this is already providing a new way of looking at things in a mine near Whitby.

He added: "They're doing science experiments looking for dark matter.

"Knowing the mass to look for massively helps them to look for it.

"There are other similar experiments going on in Italy, Japan and America."

In other words, now the mass of dark matter is known, astronomers know exactly what they're looking for in the search to pinpoint it.

The scientist's revelation was all done in humble settings too.

Prof Baruch admits this monumental discovery came about through drawing and analysing data at his home and in the garden.

It seems the coronavirus pandemic has brought about some good in the world of science.

Prof Baruch said: "We've had COVID time to think about strange ideas that we didn't before.

"I've been stuck at home and working on this.

"I've been looking at everybody's data that they're stuck with and looking at it in new ways."

The dark matter particles have been named after the famous Bradford-born astronomer Professor Sir Fred Hoyle.

He formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and also held controversial stances such as his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory.

Prof Baruch wanted to pay tribute to him, so people were reminded of his, and the city's, importance to the world of astronomy.

He said: "He was a Bradford lad and I am.

"Because he wasn't part of the elite, he was always forgotten about.

"He's not been given the honours he deserves."

Prof Baruch’s research has been published in the Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

To view the paper, visit: raa-journal.org/raa/index.php/raa/article/view/4683.