1 April another long phase of research aimed at detecting and studying gravitational waves. And now, a month later, the first successful observations were announced as part of this stage of work.
The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and Virgo observatories are used to detect gravitational waves. The first combines two complexes located in the United States in Livingston (Louisiana) and Hanford (Washington). In turn, the Virgo detector is located at the European Gravity Observatory (EGO).
So, it is reported that at the end of April it was possible to register two gravitational signals at once. The first was recorded on April 25. Its source, according to preliminary data, was a cosmic catastrophe - the merger of two neutron stars. The masses of such objects are comparable to the mass of the Sun, but the radius is only 10β20 kilometers. The source of the signal was at a distance of about 500 million light years from us.
The second event was recorded on April 26. Scientists believe that this time the gravitational waves were born as a result of the collision of a neutron star and a black hole at a distance of 1,2 billion light years from Earth.
Note that the first detection of gravitational waves was announced on February 11, 2016 - their source was the merger of two black holes. And in 2017, scientists first observed gravitational waves from the merger of two neutron stars.
Source: 3dnews.ru