Gravitational waves from GW190521

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

The Challenge of Weird Black Hole Mergers

When spacetime shivers last only a fraction of a second — as in the case of the massive-black-hole merger GW190521 — astronomers struggle to uncover their origins.

a range of lines with blue dots on top and bottom creating a shape similar to a bird with spread wings. red and yellow dots run along the outline of the bottom half, all on a black background.

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Third Gravitational-Wave Catalog Released

The latest results from LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA bring several key revelations, including that black holes tend to come with certain masses.

big black hole merger

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Big Black Holes Dominate New Gravitational-Wave Catalog

Gravitational-wave scientists have unveiled their latest catalog of events, revealing a surprising number of massive black holes.

visualization of GW190814 gravitational-wave event

Black Holes

Gravitational Wave Detectors Find Mystery “Mass Gap” Object

Astronomers have caught a black hole colliding with a mysterious companion that might be either one of the most massive neutron stars or the smallest black hole ever detected.

Illustration of black hole merger

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

More Black Hole Mergers Found in LIGO Data

Analysis by an independent team has ferreted out seven candidates for gravitational-wave events from merging black holes.

Illustration of black holes merging

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

What LIGO Teaches Us About Black Holes

The rising count of gravitational-wave events is giving us a new look at a once-invisible population of black holes.

Illustration of black holes merging

Black Holes

Gravitational-Wave Observatories Bag Four Black-Hole Collisions

A re-analysis of data from LIGO and Virgo brings the number of gravitational-wave detections to 11, including the most distant and most powerful black-hole merger yet discovered.

Stellar Science

Seen at Last: A Superfast Jet Streams Away from Neutron-star Smashup

A new finding suggests that LIGO’s neutron-star merger was a typical gamma-ray burst after all.

Neutron star collision

Stellar Science

Gravitational Waves Shed Light on Neutron Star Interiors

The gravitational-wave detection last year of a neutron star merger has revealed details on neutron star structure, ruling out exotic quark matter in the objects’ cores.

five black hole mergers

Cosmology

LIGO Sees Smallest Black Hole Binary Yet

LIGO has detected another black hole merger, raising the tally to five.

Neutron star collision

Cosmology

Astronomers Catch Gravitational Waves from Colliding Neutron Stars

Spacetime ripples from the neutron star smash-up usher in the age of multi-messenger astronomy.

People, Places, and Events

2017 Nobel Goes to Gravitational Waves

Three American physicists have received the Nobel Prize in physics for their contributions to the discovery of gravitational waves.

Virgo

Cosmology

Fourth Gravitational Wave Event Detected

Teaming up with LIGO, Europe’s Virgo detector has bagged its first gravitational waves. The three-observatory detection enabled scientists to better pinpoint the merging black holes’ location.

merging black holes

Black Holes

LIGO Detects Third Black Hole Merger

Scientists with the gravitational-wave observatory announce another discovery, this time of a black hole merger twice as far away as previous detections.

two black holes in the moments before a catastrophic collision

Black Holes

LIGO Detects Second Black Hole Collision

The gravitational wave observatory has detected a second event, heralding a new era in astrophysics. The day after Christmas last year, the cosmos quietly gifted scientists with gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of spacetime – produced in a collision between two stellar-mass black holes. It’s the second event…

Aerial view of LIGO Hanford

Cosmology

About The LIGO Gravitational-Wave Rumor. . .

Gossip is racing around the physics and astronomy community: has LIGO finally heard its first black-hole merger? Here’s the reality.