LIGO and Virgo detect neutron star smash-ups
Findings reported just weeks into the network’s latest operating run. (Press release)
3 Questions: Salvatore Vitale on LIGO’s latest detections
“We will keep listening for these faint and remote cosmic whispers,” says the physics professor.
Quantum measurement could improve gravitational wave detection sensitivity
Research could enable a new suite of experiments to measure quantum activity at room temperature.
Astronomers capture first image of a black hole
ESO, ALMA, and APEX contribute to paradigm-shifting observations of the gargantuan black hole at the heart of the galaxy Messier 87. (Press release)
Working together as a “virtual telescope,” observatories around the world produce first direct images of a black hole
Images reveal supermassive black hole at the heart of the Messier 87 galaxy.
3 Questions: Lisa Barsotti on the new and improved LIGO
“If we are very lucky, we might observe something new … or maybe even something totally unexpected.”
X-ray pulse detected near event horizon as black hole devours star
Pulse pattern suggests distant black hole must be spinning at least at 50 percent the speed of light.
Astronomers observe evolution of a black hole as it wolfs down stellar material
Halo of highly energized electrons around the black hole contracts dramatically during feeding frenzy.
Stamp of approval
MIT’s Mark Vogelsberger and the Illustris project are honored by Germany's postal service with an official stamp.
LIGO and Virgo announce four new gravitational-wave detections
The observatories are also releasing their first catalog of gravitational-wave events.
A passionate advocate for open data
Senior Radha Mastandrea analyzes data from CERN in search of more information about the universe’s fundamental particles.
3Q: Janet Conrad on the first detection of a neutrino’s cosmic source
The “ghostly particle” is confirmed to have originated from a blazar, nearly 4 billion light years from Earth.
Could gravitational waves reveal how fast our universe is expanding?
Signals from rare black hole-neutron star pairs could pinpoint rate at which universe is growing, researchers say.
Dense stellar clusters may foster black hole megamergers
Black holes in these environments could combine repeatedly to form objects bigger than anything a single star could produce.
Center for Theoretical Physics celebrates 50 years
Symposium explores how novel ideas and experiments are advancing many areas of theoretical physics in newly interconnected ways.