Sanford Lab invites community to international Dark Matter Day event

LEAD, SD— Sanford Underground Research Facility (Sanford Lab) and international partners invite the public to attend “Deep Talks: An International Journey to Dark Matter Detection.” This online event will be streamed on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to noon MST and 4 to 6 p.m. GMT. 

This event is part of Dark Matter Day, an international celebration that aims to shed light on the mystery of dark matter. For the first Deep Talks of the 2020-2021 season, Sanford Lab is partnering with Boulby Underground Laboratory, the University of Edinburgh, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council for a virtual Dark Matter Day event you won’t want to miss.

"Through Dark Matter Day, we celebrate the exploration of a mysterious substance that makes up a missing chunk of our Universe,” said Constance Walter, communications director at Sanford Lab. “We are proud and excited to partner with several teams in the UK this year to present a brief history of the research behind dark matter." 

There’s far more to our Universe than meets the eye. Everything we can see—everything we know exists—makes up just 5 percent of the Universe. So, what about the other 95 percent? Astronomers and astrophysicists believe that approximately 25 percent of the missing mass and energy in the Universe is made up of dark matter. This ubiquitous particle is everywhere, yet, so far, remains a mystery.

Scientists have been attempting to detect dark matter for years. At “Deep Talks: An International Journey to Dark Matter Detection,” join our team of international scientists as they unpack the mysteries of dark matter, how far the search has come, and what might lie ahead in the field of dark matter research. Attendees will listen to talks by dark matter researchers, ask questions during a Q&A panel and take virtual tours of underground laboratory spaces at Sanford Lab in the United States and Boulby Underground Laboratory in the United Kingdom. 

“The story of dark matter is puzzling, exciting and extremely important,” said Sally Shaw, a researcher with the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment and speaker at this event. “Detecting it in the coming years is essential for our understanding of the Universe. I want to help tell this story to anyone and everyone on Dark Matter Day—hopefully it ignites interest in a new generation of scientists!”

Attendees can join this event via Zoom webinar to answer polls and submit questions for speakers or watch live on Sanford Lab's Facebook page. Webinar space is limited, and early registration is encouraged. View full event information on Sanford Lab’s website.

Sponsored by the Interactions Collaboration, an international community of particle physics communication specialists, Dark Matter Day celebrates the work being done in laboratories and institutions around the world, and shares what we do know about this cosmic puzzle with audiences worldwide. With the ongoing pandemic, Dark Matter Day is going virtual, making every event accessible to a worldwide audience. To explore the many opportunities to participate, visit the Dark Matter Day website. 

Sanford Lab is operated by the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA) with funding from the Department of Energy. Our mission is to advance compelling underground, multidisciplinary research in a safe work environment and to inspire and educate through science, technology, and engineering. Visit Sanford Lab at www.SanfordLab.org.