New quantum gravity sensor could someday peel away the surfaces of other worlds

To find features like groundwater under Earth‘s surface — or under the surface of another world — scientists can sense the subtle marks those features leave in the planet’s gravitational field.

But those measurements aren’t easy to get; you need very sensitive instruments, and even the slightest vibrations can throw off the measurements. Now, a group of physicists has demonstrated an hourglass-like gravity-measuring device that they say helps to overcome this challenge.