Posted on 08/27/2017 12:54:02 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Astrophysicists may have detected gravitational waves last week from the collision of two neutron stars in a distant galaxy — and telescopes trained on the same region might also have spotted the event.
Rumours to that effect are spreading fast online, much to researchers’ excitement. Such a detection could mark a new era of astronomy: one in which phenomena are both seen by conventional telescopes and ‘heard’ as vibrations in the fabric of space-time. “It would be an incredible advance in our understanding,” says Stuart Shapiro, an astrophysicist at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
Scientists who work with gravitational-wave detectors won’t comment on the gossip because the data is still under analysis. Public records show that telescopes around the world have been looking at the same galaxy since last week, but astronomers caution that they could have been picking up signals from an unrelated source.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Louisiana and Washington state has three times detected gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of space-time — emerging from colliding black holes. But scientists have been hoping to detect ripples from another cosmic cataclysm, such as the merger of neutron stars, remnants of large stars that exploded but were not massive enough to collapse into a black hole. Such an event should also emit radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum — from radio waves to γ-rays — which telescopes might be able to pick up.
On 18 August, astronomer J. Craig Wheeler of the University of Texas at Austin began the public rumour mill when he tweeted, “New LIGO. Source with optical counterpart. Blow your sox off!” An hour later, astronomer Peter Yoachim of the University of Washington in Seattle tweeted that LIGO had seen a signal with an optical counterpart...
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
I absolutely saw one the other day. Honest to Obama.
Clients at the grass stores were heard discussing riding it over the weekend...
I’ve always understood that the force of gravity being based on distance between masses is always in effect between all bodies and it is merely the magnitude that changes as they get closer/farther apart. It’s always there but at negligible amounts.
Two bodies placed in a vacuum with not other forces would eventually collapse together.
Reminds me of the scientist who said gravitational forces travel much faster than the speed of light.
I donno.
Those are already covered, maybe, by the Gravity Enhanced tag. Or maybe it’s Gravity Challenged? Everything’s a challenge, you know.
But the Gravity Waveians will want to believe they were produced, as individuals, by a collision between 2 massive stellar objects.
So, two out to pasture Hollyweirdos who’ve gone Roger Moore in their diet makes babies. Those would be Gravity Wavians?
Fascinating. Thanks for posting.
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