Dark matter is a type of matter that doesn’t interact with light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation, so we can’t see it directly. Scientists know it exists because of its gravitational effects on other objects in space. It’s estimated to make up about 85% of the matter in the universe.

Dark energy is an unknown form of energy that’s causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. It’s estimated to make up about 68% of the total energy in the universe. Scientists are still trying to understand exactly what dark energy is and how it works.