Gravitational Waves
Why Pulsars Are So Bright
When pulsars were first discovered in 1967, their rhythmic radio-wave pulsations were a mystery. Some thought their radio beams must…
New Simulations Show How Black Holes Grow, Through Mergers and Accretion
One of the most pressing questions in astronomy concerns black holes. We know that massive stars that explode as supernovae…
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…
NASA Chooses 4 New Astronomy Space Missions for Additional Study
NASA recently selected four new missions for development that will study gravitational waves, supernovae, relativistic jets, and exoplanet habitability.
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…
Just How Feasible is a Warp Drive?
At a presentation at this year's AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, engineer Joseph Agnew spoke of the progress being made…
Gravitational Wave Detectors Might be Able to Detect Dark Matter Particles Colliding With Their Mirrors
According to a new study by a team of Japanese researchers, gravitational wave detectors could be used to confirm the…
It Looks Like LIGO/Virgo Have Detected a Black Hole Eating a Neutron Star. For the First Time Ever
A new signal detected by LIGO/Virgo may be the so-called 'holy grail' of astrophysics: the merger of a neutron star…
As Expected, the Newly Upgraded LIGO is Finding a Black Hole Merger Every Week
The LIGO detector is back online after months of upgrades, and has made two new detections already!