Tag: gravitational waves

New instrument extends LIGO’s reach

Just a year ago, the National Science Foundation-funded Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO, was picking up whispers of gravitational waves every month or so. Now, a new addition to the system is enabling the instruments to detect these ripples in space-time nearly every week. …

Did this huge black hole swallow a star from the inside out?

A recently discovered black hole in a distant spiral arm of the Milky Way, 70 times as heavy as the sun, might have swallowed a star from the inside out, and scientists are baffled. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/did-huge-black-hole-lb1-swallow-star-from-inside-out…

UV satellite will open new view on exploding stars and black holes

A new space telescope will open up an unprecedented view of the universe in ultraviolet light. The ULTRASAT satellite will provide fundamental new insights into high-energy phenomena such as supernova explosions, colliding neutron stars and active black holes, all of which can also generate gravitational waves and act as cosmic particle accelerators. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-10-uv-satellite-view-stars-black.html…

Some of the Universe’s Heavier Elements Are Created By Neutron Star Collisions

sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: Scientists have long suspected that neutron stars, the superdense remnants of burned out suns, are needed for this sort of rapid neutron capture. But until 2 years ago, they had never witnessed such an event. That’s when the GW170817 merger happened. Taking place 140 million light-years away, astronomers first detected it from the gravitational…

Found: 3 black holes due to collide

Take one minute to watch a video of a system of 3 galaxies – called SDSS J0849+1114 – all orbiting each other a billion light years from Earth. Each galaxy contains a supermassive black hole, which are circling each other, about to collide. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/sdss-j08491114-3-black-holes-due-to-collide…

First ‘overtones’ heard in the ringing of a black hole

When two black holes collide, they merge into one bigger black hole and ring like a struck bell, sending out ripples in space and time called gravitational waves. Embedded in these gravitational waves are specific frequencies, or tones, which are akin to individual notes in a musical chord. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-09-overtones-heard-black-hole.html…

Some physicists still doubt whether LIGO has seen gravitational waves

LIGO has explained how it processes gravitational wave data in greater detail than ever before. But some physicists still say the analysis contains mistakes Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2216072-some-physicists-still-doubt-whether-ligo-has-seen-gravitational-waves/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Gravitational wave detectors might be able to detect dark matter particles colliding with their mirrors

The field of astronomy has been revolutionized, thanks to the first-ever detection of gravitational waves (GWs). Since the initial detection was made in February of 2016 by scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), multiple gravitational events have been detected. These have provided insight into a phenomenon that was predicted over a century ago by Albert Einstein. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-09-gravitational-detectors-dark-particles-colliding.html…

Sensor used at CERN could help gravitational wave hunters

It started with a relatively simple goal: create a prototype for a new kind of device to monitor the motion of underground structures at CERN. But the project—the result of a collaboration between CERN and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia—quickly evolved. The prototype turned into several full-blown devices that can potentially serve as early warning systems…