Instrument that detected gravity waves should usher in a new era of space discoveries

These (gravity) ripples open a new window on the universe, allowing astronomers to hear in the darkest regions of space where telescopes yield no information. Black holes, for instance, are infamously impossible to observe directly; they emit no light. But with gravitational waves, astronomers can probe the very heart of the singularities. They will discover black holes completely invisible to traditional observatories — and surely new surprises as well.

“Imagine the instrument as a giant ruler,” says Marco Cavaglià, a University of Mississippi astronomer and assistant LIGO spokesman. “We measure distance along two perpendicular arms, and if these distances change, then we can see it with the laser light.” Although the gravitational waves are incredibly weak — only enough to warp the distance between Earth and the Sun by the width of a hydrogen atom — LIGO’s instruments are extremely sensitive.

Detection of gravitational waves, which were initially predicted in 1916, follows months of rumors. Just a week after the newly upgraded LIGO went online, popular (and unaffiliated) physicist Lawrence Krauss tweeted that he heard about a gravitational wave detection. About a month ago, another tweet from Krauss doubled down on the finding, sending rumors into overdrive. All official sources declined to comment until Thursday’s announcement.

It’s not hard to see why: This is one of the biggest scientific discoveries of the decade, if not the century. There’s already talk of Nobel prizes for the discoverers. And with the stakes so high, the science must be accurate, especially given other recent groundbreaking announcements that later turned out not to be true.

Assuming these findings hold up, it’s an exciting time in astronomy. Gravitational waves can now serve as another way to scour the cosmos, akin to being able to see a new color. It’s impossible to say what discoveries await in the coming gravitational wave era, but every time astronomers have found a new way to observe, breakthroughs have soon followed.

http://discovermagazine.com/bonus/gravity

[quote="Ben_Reilly"][quote]These (gravity) ripples open a new window on the universe, allowing astronomers to hear in the darkest regions of space where telescopes yield no information. Black holes, for instance, are infamously impossible to observe directly; they emit no light. But with gravitational waves, astronomers can probe the very heart of the singularities. They will discover black holes completely invisible to traditional observatories — and surely new surprises as well.

“Imagine the instrument as a giant ruler,” says Marco Cavaglià, a University of Mississippi astronomer and assistant LIGO spokesman. “We measure distance along two perpendicular arms, and if these distances change, then we can see it with the laser light.” Although the gravitational waves are incredibly weak — only enough to warp the distance between Earth and the Sun by the width of a hydrogen atom — LIGO’s instruments are extremely sensitive.

Detection of gravitational waves, which were initially predicted in 1916, follows months of rumors. Just a week after the newly upgraded LIGO went online, popular (and unaffiliated) physicist Lawrence Krauss tweeted that he heard about a gravitational wave detection. About a month ago, another tweet from Krauss doubled down on the finding, sending rumors into overdrive. All official sources declined to comment until Thursday’s announcement.

It’s not hard to see why: This is one of the biggest scientific discoveries of the decade, if not the century. There’s already talk of Nobel prizes for the discoverers. And with the stakes so high, the science must be accurate, especially given other recent groundbreaking announcements that later turned out not to be true.

Assuming these findings hold up, it’s an exciting time in astronomy. Gravitational waves can now serve as another way to scour the cosmos, akin to being able to see a new color. It’s impossible to say what discoveries await in the coming gravitational wave era, but every time astronomers have found a new way to observe, breakthroughs have soon followed.[/quote]

http://discovermagazine.com/bonus/gravity[/quote]

I wonder what might peer back at them?

now THAT HT is pure Nietzsche

"if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into YOU.."