New research suggests that the famous black hole Cygnus X-1 – first black hole ever detected and one of the closest to Earth – is farther away and much more massive than previously believed. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cygnus-x-1-black-hole-more-massive-farther…
Tag: gravitational waves
Swarm of black holes discovered
For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of a throng of black holes crowding near the center of an ancient globular cluster. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/group-black-holes-found-globular-cluster-ngc-6397…
Video: A signal from beyond
UConn astrophysicist Chiara Mingarelli is part of a team of researchers who recently published data on a hint of a signal that sent ripples of excitement through the physics community. These monumental findings are the culmination of 12 and a half years of data gathered from NANOGrav—a network of pulsars across the galaxy—all in the hopes of detecting gravitational waves. Source:…
Galaxy-Size Gravitational-Wave Detector Hints At Exotic Physics
The fabric of spacetime may be frothing with gigantic gravitational waves, and the possibility has sent physicists into a tizzy. A potential signal seen in the light from dead stellar cores known as pulsars has driven a flurry of theoretical papers speculating about exotic explanations. Scientific American reports: The most mundane, yet still quite sensational, possibility is that researchers working with…
The largest-ever catalog of gravitational waves released
One of humankind’s greatest achievements was made on 14th Sept 2015 when the first direct detection of a gravitational wave event was made using the aLIGO observatories in Washington State and Louisana in the U.S. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-largest-ever-gravitational.html…
China’s huge FAST telescope to open to international observers
FAST’s 500-meter (1,640-foot) dish makes it the world’s largest single-dish radio observatory. It’s expected to open to international observers in 2021. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/worlds-largest-radio-telescope-china-fast…
Stunning photo shows Virgo upgrade ready to hunt gravitational waves
This dazzling image shows the upgraded and more sensitive Advanced Virgo+ detector, which hunts for clues about the universe that are contained in gravitational waves Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933173-200-stunning-photo-shows-virgo-upgrade-ready-to-hunt-gravitational-waves/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
We may have found hints of gravitational waves permeating the universe
When supermassive black holes merge, they create a low thrum of gravitational waves that permeates the universe, and we may have just spotted it for the first time Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2264633-we-may-have-found-hints-of-gravitational-waves-permeating-the-universe/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
The Kilonova-Chasing Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer is about to be watching the whole sky
Lately, there has been a flood of interest in gravitational waves. After the first official detection at LIGO / Virgo in 2015, data has been coming in showing how common these once theoretical phenomena actually are. Usually they are caused by unimaginably violent events, such as a merging pair of black holes. Such events also have a tendency to emit another…
China launched two satellites to find sources of gravitational waves
A pair of satellites launched from China carry detectors for gamma rays and charged particles, which could help locate the source of gravitational wave signals Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2262495-china-launched-two-satellites-to-find-sources-of-gravitational-waves/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…