What is the universe made of?

The universe is made up of the following three components:

1) Matter (or baryonic matter): 4.6%

2) Dark Matter: 24%

3) Dark Energy: 71.4%

The baryonic matter is the matter that we are familiar with, the matter that is made up of atoms (which are further made up of neutrons, protons, and electrons). Metals, objects, animals, plants, and our bodies are all examples of baryonic matter.

For most of human history, baryonic matter was thought...

The universe is made up of the following three components:

1) Matter (or baryonic matter): 4.6%

2) Dark Matter: 24%

3) Dark Energy: 71.4%

The baryonic matter is the matter that we are familiar with, the matter that is made up of atoms (which are further made up of neutrons, protons, and electrons). Metals, objects, animals, plants, and our bodies are all examples of baryonic matter.

For most of human history, baryonic matter was thought to be the only constituent of the universe. It was only recently when scientists found that there are other constituents of the universe as well. In fact, baryonic matter is the smallest constituent of the universe (in terms of mass).

Our current understanding of the universe suggests that most of the universe is made up of matter that we cannot see (dark matter) and energy that behaves in a manner that is opposite to that of gravity (dark energy). In fact, the dark energy is the principal constituent of the universe and explains the observed accelerated expansion of our universe.

More details about the various constituents of the universe can be found at the reference link. Hope this helps.