A simulation of the latest binary black hole merger detected by LIGO. Blue indicates weak fields and yellow indicates strong fields.
Numerical-relativistic Simulation: S Ossokine, A Buonanno (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics) and the Simulating eXtreme Spacetime project Scientific Visualization: T Dietrich (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics), R Haas (NCSA)
Scientists have made a third detection of gravitational waves, again caused by the merger of two black holes. But they think there's something different about the black holes in this case.
Artist’s conception of two merging black holes, spinning in a nonaligned fashion.
LIGO/Caltech/MIT/Sonoma State (Aurore Simonnet)
These ripples in the very fabric of the universe were hypothesized by Einstein a century ago. Now scientists have detected them for the third time in a year and a half – ushering in a new era in astrophysics.
When black holes collide, gravitational waves are created in space itself (image is a computer simulation).
The SXS (Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes) Project
Einstein called entanglement "spooky action at a distance”. But now it's been used to design an incredibly sensitive detection method for gravitational waves.
An artist’s rendering of the Swift satellite catching a Gamma-ray Burst.
Nasa/Spectrum Astro
The first ever picture of the Milky Way's black hole is expected to be a bright crescent shape rather than a disk.
An artist’s impression of a Sun-like star close to a rapidly spinning supermassive black hole, with a mass of about 100 million times the mass of our Sun.
ESA/Hubble, ESO, M. Kornmesser
The observation of gravitational waves from a second black hole merger implies there are many more black holes in the universe than scientists had previously anticipated.
Stargazing seems such a quiet, calm activity. But whether our eyes can see or not, those stars out there are in constant flux. Time-domain astronomy studies how cosmic objects change with time.
A new development could mean vastly increase data transfer over optical fibre cables.
Shutterstock
It's taken centuries for our understanding of gravity to evolve to where it is today, culminating in the discovery of gravitational waves, as predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago.
Massive bodies can send ripples through space time in the form of gravitational waves.
NASA
The long awaited discovery of gravitational waves has sent ripples through the scientific world. Here top experts respond to the historic announcement.
When two black holes collide, the resulting gravitational ripples can be felt across the cosmos.
Henze, NASA
It takes something as stupendous as the merger between two black holes to generate detectable gravitational waves. Here's how such incredible cosmic objects form.
Computer simulation of two merging black holes producing gravitational waves.
Werner Benger.
Director, WA Node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, and the Australian International Gravitational Research Centre, University of Western Australia
