gravitational

How a future gravitational wave detector in space will reveal more about the universe

by

Gravitational waves will be mapped to unprecedented high detail when a new gravitational wave detector mission launches in 2037. This will observe black holes, neutron stars and other objects, a new study notes. The paper looks ahead to when the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) from the European Space Agency will fly into space to … Read more

For The First Time, a Tatooine-Like Planet Has Been Detected Via a Wobbling Star

by

Not all planetary systems are alike. Out there in the big, wide galaxy, a number of different configurations have been spotted, some vastly different from our home system. These include extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, that orbit not one, but two stars, like the fictional Star Wars world of Tatooine.   Now, for the first time, astronomers … Read more

Astonishing Image Captures The Epic Collision of Three Galaxies

by

An object 681 million light-years away might look like one glorious, exquisite mess, but there’s a lot more going on that a first glance indicates. The object showcased in a new Hubble image – called IC 2431 – is not one galaxy, but three, coming together in a massive galactic merger that will one day … Read more

For The First Time, a Lone Black Hole Has Been Found Wandering The Milky Way

by

Like an ancient cardigan, the Milky Way should be absolutely riddled with black holes. According to our best estimates, there should be as many as 10 million to 1 billion stellar-mass black holes out there, drifting peacefully and quietly through the galaxy. There’s just one problem when it comes to counting them: Unless they manage … Read more

Strange gravitational wave echoes may let us probe dark matter

by

When gravitational waves pass over massive objects, they should create an echo that could allow us to examine objects that we can’t otherwise see, including dark matter Space 27 January 2022 By Leah Crane An illustration of gravitational waves Shutterstock The entire universe is suffused with gravitational waves, ripples in space-time caused by the motion … Read more

Gravitational waves play with fast spinning stars, study suggests

by

Scientists observed changes in the signals coming from rapidly-spinning stars called millisecond pulsars that might point to the existence of subtle space-time ripples vibrating throughout the entire universe. Millisecond pulsars are stellar remnants that spin hundreds of times per second, producing precise radio pulses that can act as a cosmic metronome. Scientists think that ripples … Read more

Scientists Have Detected a Faint Hint of The Background Hum of The Universe

by

Ever since scientists made the first detection of gravitational waves from a pair of colliding black holes in 2015, evidence has been growing that the Universe ought to be full of them.   Every massive event – every black hole or neutron star merger, every supernova – should have sent gravitational waves ringing out across … Read more

Why Discovering ‘Nothing’ in Science Can Be So Incredibly Important

by

In science, as in life, we all like to celebrate the big news. We confirmed the existence of black holes by the ripples they create in space time. We photographed the shadow of a black hole. We figured out how to edit DNA. We found the Higgs boson!   What we don’t usually hear about is … Read more

Biological Activity on Earth Really Is Affected by The Gravity of The Sun And Moon

by

Those two orbs we see in the sky during the day and night have even more of an influence on the animals and plants on Earth than you might think. The gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon really does appear to affect flora and fauna activity, although the exact mechanisms by which this happens … Read more