This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/viral/390604-einsteins-gravitational-waves-detected-third-time/
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
3bn years old & 3bn light years away – but black hole cosmic wave detected in 2017 | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Albert Einstein's once-theoretical gravitational waves were detected in January for only the third time in history, scientists announced Thursday. | Albert Einstein's once-theoretical gravitational waves were detected in January for only the third time in history, scientists announced Thursday. |
The waves are ripples in space which permeate through time when two black holes smash together to create a supermassive one. | The waves are ripples in space which permeate through time when two black holes smash together to create a supermassive one. |
Einstein predicted gravitational waves over a century ago but they remained elusive until September 2015 when scientists working with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) picked up the cosmic vibrations. | Einstein predicted gravitational waves over a century ago but they remained elusive until September 2015 when scientists working with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) picked up the cosmic vibrations. |
These vibrations are caused when massive celestial objects – in this latest case two black holes – smash together and merge, triggering ripples in space that echo through time and are picked up by LIGO here on Earth. | These vibrations are caused when massive celestial objects – in this latest case two black holes – smash together and merge, triggering ripples in space that echo through time and are picked up by LIGO here on Earth. |
The newly found black hole has the a mass roughly 49 times the size of our sun. The previous two detections, also caused by black hole collisions, had a solar masses of 62 and 21 times that of the sun. | The newly found black hole has the a mass roughly 49 times the size of our sun. The previous two detections, also caused by black hole collisions, had a solar masses of 62 and 21 times that of the sun. |
These collisions produce more power than is radiated as light by all the stars and galaxies in the universe at any given time. | These collisions produce more power than is radiated as light by all the stars and galaxies in the universe at any given time. |
LIGO/Caltech/Sonoma State (Aurore Simonnet) | LIGO/Caltech/Sonoma State (Aurore Simonnet) |
"We have further confirmation of the existence of stellar-mass black holes that are larger than 20 solar masses – these are objects we didn't know existed before LIGO detected them," MIT's David Shoemaker, spokesman for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration said in a press release. | "We have further confirmation of the existence of stellar-mass black holes that are larger than 20 solar masses – these are objects we didn't know existed before LIGO detected them," MIT's David Shoemaker, spokesman for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration said in a press release. |
"It is remarkable that humans can put together a story, and test it, for such strange and extreme events that took place billions of years ago and billions of light-years distant from us. The entire LIGO and Virgo scientific collaborations worked to put all these pieces together,” he added. | "It is remarkable that humans can put together a story, and test it, for such strange and extreme events that took place billions of years ago and billions of light-years distant from us. The entire LIGO and Virgo scientific collaborations worked to put all these pieces together,” he added. |
LIGO picked up the latest space-time ripple on January 4 of this year, quickly determining that the collision occurred an astonishing 3 billion light years away, meaning that the vibrations had been travelling for 3 billion years before reaching LIGO’s instruments on our pale blue dot. | LIGO picked up the latest space-time ripple on January 4 of this year, quickly determining that the collision occurred an astonishing 3 billion light years away, meaning that the vibrations had been travelling for 3 billion years before reaching LIGO’s instruments on our pale blue dot. |
The theory of gravitational wave fascinates scientists seeking to develop and utilise it in order to discover more about how our universe came into existence. | The theory of gravitational wave fascinates scientists seeking to develop and utilise it in order to discover more about how our universe came into existence. |
The first detection caused more than a ripple through the scientific community here on Earth and this latest one is a turning point in the relatively new field of gravitational-wave astronomy. | The first detection caused more than a ripple through the scientific community here on Earth and this latest one is a turning point in the relatively new field of gravitational-wave astronomy. |
“We’re really moving from novelty to a new observational science,” said Shoemaker. | “We’re really moving from novelty to a new observational science,” said Shoemaker. |
LIGO is also on the hunt for other celestial objects, including colliding neutron stars, objects so dense that a single teaspoon of worth of them would weigh 10 million tons (metric) on Earth. | LIGO is also on the hunt for other celestial objects, including colliding neutron stars, objects so dense that a single teaspoon of worth of them would weigh 10 million tons (metric) on Earth. |
Previous version
1
Next version