Gravitational Waves
Gravitational-Wave Lensing is Possible, but it’s Going to be Incredibly Difficult to Detect
Because gravitational waves travel at the speed of light, they can be lensed just as light waves are. But observing…
Gravitational waves could show what’s happening inside a star as it’s going supernova
It's kind of hard to see inside a star as it's blowing up, because of the whole "blowing up" part,…
The Moon is an Ideal Spot for a Gravitational Wave Observatory
A prestigious pair of astronomers have published a paper recommending that a gravitational wave observatory be built on the far…
Closest Black Hole Found, Just 1,000 Light-Years From Earth
Scientists with the ESO have detected a triple system with a black hole roughly 1,000 light-years from Earth - making…
Astronomers Detected a Black Hole Merger With Very Different Mass Objects
In another first, the latest gravitational wave event to be detected came from the merger of two black holes of…
Neutron Star Measures Just 22 Kilometers Across
How big is a neutron star? These extreme, ultra-dense collapsed stars are fairly small, as far as stellar objects are…
14% of all the Massive Stars in the Universe are Destined to Collide as Black Holes
Einstein's Theory of General Relativity predicted that black holes would form and eventually collide. It also predicted the creation of…
A Mysterious Burst of Gravitational Waves Came From a Region Near Betelgeuse. But There’s Probably No Connection
Gravitational waves are caused by calamitous events in the Universe. Neutron stars that finally merge after circling each other for…
LIGO Will Squeeze Light To Overcome The Quantum Noise Of Empty Space
LIGO is so sensitive it can hear the quantum fluctuations of a vacuum. But by squeezing light it can make…
Hubble Has Looked at the 2017 Kilonova Explosion Almost a Dozen Times, Watching it Slowly Fade Away
In 2017, LIGO (Laser-Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) and Virgo detected gravitational waves coming from the merger of two neutron stars.…