Already on April 1, the next long phase of observations starts, aimed at detecting and studying gravitational waves - changes in the gravitational field that propagate like waves.
Specialists from the LIGO and Virgo observatories will be involved in the new stage of work. Let us recall that LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) is a laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory. It consists of two blocks, which are located in the United States in Livingston (Louisiana) and Hanford (Washington State) - at a distance of about 3 thousand kilometers from each other. Since the speed of propagation of gravitational waves is supposedly equal to the speed of light, this distance gives a difference of 10 milliseconds, which allows us to determine the direction of the source of the recorded signal.
As for Virgo, this French-Italian gravitational wave detector is located at the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO). Its key component is the Michelson laser interferometer.
The next phase of observations will last a whole year. It is reported that combining the capabilities of LIGO and Virgo will create the most sensitive instrument to date for detecting gravitational waves. It is expected, in particular, that specialists will be able to detect signals of a new type from different sources in the Universe.
We add that the first detection of gravitational waves was announced on February 11, 2016 - their source was the merger of two black holes.
Source: 3dnews.ru