But by using mysterious fast radio bursts (FRBs), researchers from Curtin University have finally located all the missing matter in the vast space between stars and galaxies.

But as Professor Macquart explained, by using these FRBs as “cosmic weigh stations” the team was able to detect the missing matter.

“We’ve now been able to measure the distances to enough fast radio bursts to determine the density of the universe.” Amazingly, the team only needed to observe six of these to account for all the missing matter, yielding a measured density close to pre-existing estimates for how much there should be floating around the universe — and giving astrophysicists answers to a frustrating mystery they’ve been pursuing for decades