Gravitational Waves

Ripples in spacetime from accelerating masses, first detected by LIGO in 2015 from merging black holes.

Core Principles & Analysis

• The first detection, GW150914, came from two roughly 30-solar-mass black holes merging 1.3 billion light-years away, earning the 2017 Nobel Prize.
• The 2017 neutron star merger GW170817 was seen in both gravitational waves and light, confirming such collisions forge gold and platinum.
• In 2023 pulsar timing arrays reported evidence of a background hum of nanohertz gravitational waves pervading the galaxy.

Specifications & Metrics

• FIRST DETECTION: GW150914 (LIGO, 2015)