Accepting Massive Problems

Abstract

This paper explores the process of the assessment and eventual acceptance of the existence of dark matter by the Western astronomy community in the period between 1930s and 1980s. By applying the framework of theoretical scientonomy, I trace the acceptance of two anomalous phenomena: the high mass-to-light ratio observed in galactic clusters, first documented by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in 1933, and the flat rotation curves of galaxies first observed by American astronomers Vera Rubin and Kent Ford in 1970. I also highlight how the community accepted two second-order propositions stating the inconsistency of these phenomena with the rest of the astronomical mosaic. I show that the acceptance of the existence of dark matter resulted from the acceptance of the existence of these anomalous phenomena and took place between 1982-1985, rather than in the mid-1970s as was previously assumed.