For the first time, scientists observed ripples in the fabric of space-time called gravitational waves, incoming at Earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.
The plots show signals of gravitational waves detected by the twin (LIGO) observatories. The signals came from two merging black holes 1.3 billion light-years away. The peak two plots show data received at each detector, along with wave forms predicted by general relativity. The X-axis plots time, the Y-axis strain--the fractional amount by which distances are indistinct. The (LIGO) data match the predictions very intimately. The final plot compares data from both facilities, confirming the detection.
Gravitational waves take information about their dramatic origins and about the nature of gravity that cannot otherwise be obtained. Physicists have concluded that the detected gravitational waves were produced during the last fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes to produce a single, more Massive spinning black hole. This collision of two black holes had been predicted but never observed.
The gravitational waves were detected on September 14, 2015 at 5:51 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time 09:51 U.T.C by together of the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (L.I.G.O) detectors, situated in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington, USA. The LIGO Observatories are funded by the National Science Foundation (N.S.F), and were conceive, build, and are operated by Caltech and MIT. The discovery, accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters, was made by the (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration (which includes the (GEO) Collaboration and the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy) and the Virgo Collaboration using data from the 2 LIGO detectors.
Based on the observed signals, LIGO scientists approximation that the black holes for this event were about 29 and 36 times the mass of the sun, and the event took place 1.3 billion years ago. About 3 times the mass of the sun was converted into gravitational waves in a fraction of a second -- with a peak power output about 50 times that of the entire visible universe. By looking at the time of arrival of the signals -- the detector in Livingston recorded the event 7 milliseconds before the detector in Hanford -- scientists can say that the source was located in the Southern Hemisphere.
The plots show signals of gravitational waves detected by the twin (LIGO) observatories. The signals came from two merging black holes 1.3 billion light-years away. The peak two plots show data received at each detector, along with wave forms predicted by general relativity. The X-axis plots time, the Y-axis strain--the fractional amount by which distances are indistinct. The (LIGO) data match the predictions very intimately. The final plot compares data from both facilities, confirming the detection.
The gravitational waves were detected on September 14, 2015 at 5:51 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time 09:51 U.T.C by together of the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (L.I.G.O) detectors, situated in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington, USA. The LIGO Observatories are funded by the National Science Foundation (N.S.F), and were conceive, build, and are operated by Caltech and MIT. The discovery, accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters, was made by the (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration (which includes the (GEO) Collaboration and the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy) and the Virgo Collaboration using data from the 2 LIGO detectors.
Based on the observed signals, LIGO scientists approximation that the black holes for this event were about 29 and 36 times the mass of the sun, and the event took place 1.3 billion years ago. About 3 times the mass of the sun was converted into gravitational waves in a fraction of a second -- with a peak power output about 50 times that of the entire visible universe. By looking at the time of arrival of the signals -- the detector in Livingston recorded the event 7 milliseconds before the detector in Hanford -- scientists can say that the source was located in the Southern Hemisphere.
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