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Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime, caused by the acceleration of massive objects — such as colliding black holes or neutron stars. Einstein predicted them in 1916 as a consequence of general relativity, but they are so incredibly weak that he doubted they would ever be detected.
On September 14, 2015, LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detected gravitational waves from two merging black holes 1.3 billion light-years away. The signal distorted LIGO's 4-kilometer detector arms by less than one-thousandth the diameter of a proton. The discovery opened an entirely new window on the universe and earned the Nobel Prize in Physics 2017.
# Top 10 Gravitational Waves facts
- 1The first detected gravitational wave stretched LIGO's 4 km arms by less than 1/1000th the diameter of a proton
- 2The wave detected in 2015 was produced by two black holes colliding 1.3 billion years ago
- 3Gravitational wave astronomy is like gaining hearing after being deaf — a completely new sense for observing the universe
Fascinating Facts
- ◆The first detected gravitational wave stretched LIGO's 4 km arms by less than 1/1000th the diameter of a proton
- ◆The wave detected in 2015 was produced by two black holes colliding 1.3 billion years ago
- ◆Gravitational wave astronomy is like gaining hearing after being deaf — a completely new sense for observing the universe
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