Data from Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has been used to help detect the first possible hints of low-frequency disturbances in the curvature of space-time.
The results were presented today at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, which was held virtually, and are published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Arecibo Observatory is managed by the University of Central Florida for the National Science Foundation under a cooperative agreement.
The disturbances are known as gravitational waves, which ripple through space as a result of the movement of incredibly massive objects, such as black holes orbiting one another or the collision of neutron stars.
It’s important to understand these waves as they provide insight into the history of the cosmos and expand researchers’ knowledge of gravity past current limits of understanding.
Read more at University of Central Florida
Photo Credit: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) via Wikimedia Commons
