Articles about gravitational waves

Illustration: Low-frequency gravitational waves cause ripples in spacetime

Astrophysicists report solid evidence for a background hum of gravitational waves

Astrophysicists have found the best evidence yet for a low-frequency “hum” of gravitational waves rippling through the cosmos, based on… Read More

LIGO starts its fourth round of searching for gravitational waves and black holes

After three years of upgrading and waiting, due in part to the coronavirus pandemic, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory has… Read More

Seattle-area high school senior awarded $250,000 for gravitational wave research

Christine Ye, a senior at Eastlake High School in Sammamish, Wash., has won the top award in the nation’s oldest… Read More

Black hole or neutron star? Gravitational waves bring a cosmic conundrum to light

Telltale ripples in the fabric of spacetime have revealed the existence of a cosmic object that scientists can’t definitively classify.… Read More

Japan’s KAGRA detector joins LIGO and Virgo in global hunt for gravitational waves

Japan’s Kamioka Gravitational-Wave Detector, or KAGRA, is due to start teaming up with similar detectors in Washington state, Louisiana and… Read More

A double whammy of gravitational waves sparks a burst of black hole speculation

Two detections of gravitational waves, separated by a mere 21 minutes, set off a flurry of excitement among astronomers today.… Read More

Has LIGO detected its first smash-up of black hole and neutron star? Stay tuned

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, has detected mergers of black holes, and even a couple of neutron star… Read More

LIGO and Virgo detectors get in sync for gravitational-wave hunt that’ll last a year

Physicists won’t be fooling around on April 1 at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in Washington state and Louisiana, or… Read More

Scientists add four black hole collisions to LIGO’s list, including the biggest so far

Four more mergers of black holes, including the biggest one recorded to date, have been added to a catalog generated… Read More

Gravitational waves get to play a starring role in ‘Black Hole Apocalypse’ on TV

Black holes are the collapsed stars of the show on “Black Hole Apocalypse,” a two-hour “NOVA” presentation that’s premiering Wednesday… Read More

Science year in review: Neutron star smashup is the gift that keeps on giving

For the second year in a row, the journal Science is hailing a discovery sparked by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave… Read More

LIGO gravitational-wave hunters get lucky and find smallest black hole merger

It took months to figure it out, but the scientists in charge of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO,… Read More

A cosmic first! Gravitational waves and telescopes reveal the clash and flash of neutron stars

For the first time ever, researchers have recorded the cataclysmic smash-up of two neutron stars by virtue of their gravitational… Read More

Gravitational wave hubbub hints at LIGO’s first sighting of a neutron star smash-up

Another big announcement about gravitational waves is coming up, and this time the hints point to observations in electromagnetic wavelengths… Read More

No-surprise Nobel: LIGO physicists win prize for gravitational wave discoveries

This year’s Nobel Prize for physics is going, unsurprisingly, to three people who represent the hundreds of researchers behind the first… Read More

Europe’s Virgo detector picks up its first gravitational wave and nails down locale

Astronomers have detected their fourth gravitational wave from the merger of two black holes, but this one marks a new… Read More

Stephen Hawking reflects on his 75-year past and Earth’s uncertain future

An auditorium erupted in a chorus of “Happy Birthday to You” followed by traditional cheers of the English “Hip Hip… Read More

This black hole crash expands the frontier for gravitational wave hunters at LIGO

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory has detected its third confirmed black hole merger, and this one’s a doozy: LIGO’s latest discovery… Read More

LIGO goes back to the gravity-wave grind

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory is back on the hunt for ripples in spacetime, months after reporting the first signature of… Read More

Gravitational-wave detection earns LIGO scientists a $3 million Breakthrough Prize

This year’s revelations about gravitational waves are certain to win someone a Nobel Prize someday, but an even richer prize… Read More

Gravitational waves spark a loving LIGO parody from A Capella’s Tim Blais

Tim Blais, the singing scientist behind “Bohemian Gravity,” “Rolling in the Higgs” and “The Surface of Light,” is back with another… Read More

As big as the Higgs: Stephen Hawking says gravitational waves could revolutionize astronomy

British physicist Stephen Hawking says the detection of gravitational waves provides a completely new way of looking at the universe,… Read More