Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
- 28,003
- 9,615
- 910
We now live in a universe that we know is humming with gravitational waves.
Before the historic announcement on Thursday morning at a National Science Foundation (NSF) meeting in Washington D.C., there were only rumors that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) had discovered this key component of Albert Einstein’s General Relativity, but now we know that the reality is even more profound.
NEWS: Gravitational Waves Detected for First Time
With stunning clarity, LIGO was able to “listen in” on the moments before a black hole binary system (two black holes orbiting one another) merged as one, producing a gravitational wave signal that was so clear, so in keeping with our theoretical models, there was little room for speculation. LIGO had witnessed a powerful black hole “re-birthing” that occurred around 1.3 billion years ago.
Gravitational waves have always been there and always will be, washing through our planet (indeed, washing through us), but only now do we know how to find them. We’ve now opened our eyes to a different kind of cosmic signal — the vibrations caused by the most energetic events known — and we are therefore witnessing the birth of a brand new field of astronomy.
“We can now hear the universe,” said LIGO physicist and spokesperson Gabriela Gonzalez during Thursday’s triumphant meeting. “The detection is the beginning of a new era: The field of gravitational astronomy is now a reality.”
We've Detected Gravitational Waves, So What? : DNews
This is so cool.
Before the historic announcement on Thursday morning at a National Science Foundation (NSF) meeting in Washington D.C., there were only rumors that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) had discovered this key component of Albert Einstein’s General Relativity, but now we know that the reality is even more profound.
NEWS: Gravitational Waves Detected for First Time
With stunning clarity, LIGO was able to “listen in” on the moments before a black hole binary system (two black holes orbiting one another) merged as one, producing a gravitational wave signal that was so clear, so in keeping with our theoretical models, there was little room for speculation. LIGO had witnessed a powerful black hole “re-birthing” that occurred around 1.3 billion years ago.
Gravitational waves have always been there and always will be, washing through our planet (indeed, washing through us), but only now do we know how to find them. We’ve now opened our eyes to a different kind of cosmic signal — the vibrations caused by the most energetic events known — and we are therefore witnessing the birth of a brand new field of astronomy.
“We can now hear the universe,” said LIGO physicist and spokesperson Gabriela Gonzalez during Thursday’s triumphant meeting. “The detection is the beginning of a new era: The field of gravitational astronomy is now a reality.”
We've Detected Gravitational Waves, So What? : DNews
This is so cool.
