Cosmic Whispers Confirmed: Gravitational Waves Let Us Hear the Universe’s Deepest Secrets

In a stunning leap for astrophysics, scientists are now listening to the universe through gravitational waves—ripples in space-time caused by cataclysmic cosmic events like black hole collisions and neutron star mergers. Once dismissed by Einstein himself as undetectable, these waves were first heard in 2016 by LIGO, and now, with observatories like Virgo, KAGRA, and the upcoming LIGO-India, we’re entering a golden era of “gravitational wave astronomy.”

 

A recent feature by The Indian Express dives into how these waves are detected using laser interferometry, where even distortions smaller than a proton’s width are measured. The article also highlights the upcoming LISA mission, a space-based observatory that will detect lower-frequency waves from supermassive black hole mergers and possibly even echoes from the early universe.

 

This new “sense” allows us to observe the cosmos in a way light never could—through pure distortions in space-time, offering insights into the formation of gold, extreme gravity, and the birth of black holes.

 

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Source: Indian Express – Gravitational Waves: Listening to the Heartbeat of Space-Time