gravitational waves

In January scientists reported the detection of very low-frequency gravitational waves. Now astrophysicists have investigated two possible sources – the universe cooling down after the Big Bang, and a field of particles that could be dark matter.

Last year gravitational waves were detected from a massive black hole collision. But now astrophysicists propose a new explanation: a collision of two boson stars – hypothetical, invisible objects that could help untangle the mystery of dark matter.

The gravitational waves we’ve detected so far have been like tsunamis in the spacetime sea. Now, a 13-year survey of light from pulsars scattered across the galaxy may have revealed the first hints of gentle gravitational wave background signals.

The LIGO and Virgo Scientific Collaboration has detected gravitational waves coming from the most massive black hole collision that it's ever recorded. The end result created a gargantuan black hole that belongs to a new class.

Classical physics describes how large objects and systems work on an everyday scale, while quantum physics describes the “spooky” subatomic world. Now scientists have observed a rare crossover where a quantum fluctuation affected a macroscale object.

Astronomers have observed a bright flash of light from space, which appears to have come from a collision between two black holes. And that’s surprising, considering that black holes are famously dark objects.

The LIGO-Virgo collaboration has reported a very strange gravitational wave signal. This signal appears to have come from a black hole swallowing some unknown object, with a mass that sits in a range thought to be empty.

For the first time, scientists have managed to pick up higher harmonics in gravitational waves. After a round of upgrades The LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors have extended their range, revealing new details about the events behind them.

Equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been created in the Big Bang, but this would just have annihilated itself. Now, physicists have proposed a new theory that explains the mystery – and outlined how we can find direct evidence of it.

The LIGO collaboration has announced the detection of gravitational waves from a pair of neutron stars colliding. This marks just the second time ever that this kind of event has been spotted, as the smash-up sent ripples through spacetime itself.

Black holes are mysterious objects: just when we think we understand how big they can get, we go and find new ones that bend the rules. Now, astronomers have found a stellar black hole in our galaxy that’s so big it defies explanation.

The world has seen some major scientific achievements in the last 10 years, as discoveries and developments decades in the making were finally realized. New Atlas rounds up five of the most ground-breaking, history-making milestones of the 2010s.