Galactic Symphony: Pulsar Timing Arrays Detect Long-Period Gravitational Waves

 Astrophysicists have made a groundbreaking discovery by detecting long-period gravitational waves using data from 68 pulsars. This significant finding, reported by NANOGrav, aligns with predictions of general relativity and provides new insights into supermassive black holes and galaxy mergers.

Artist’s interpretation of an array of pulsars being affected by gravitational ripples produced by a supermassive black hole binary in a distant galaxy. Credit: Aurore Simonnet for the NANOGrav Collaboration

  • Using large radio telescopes, researchers observed cosmic clocks to find evidence for gravitational waves oscillating over years to decades. This continuous signal followed over 15 years, transforms our sector of the Milky Way into a vast gravitational-wave detector.
  • Pulsars, the ultra-dense remnants of massive stars, serve as precise cosmic timepieces. By monitoring 68 pulsars with facilities like Arecibo Observatory and Green Bank Telescope, NANOGrav has shown the first evidence for low-frequency gravitational waves, predictably stretching the fabric of space-time.
  • This discovery confirms Einstein's predictions and opens new windows on the gravitational-wave universe. It marks a milestone in understanding the universe's evolution, from galaxy mergers to the formation of supermassive black holes. Future investigations promise even more revelations about the cosmos.

With international collaborations and continuous advancements, the study of gravitational waves will continue to unlock the secrets of our universe, providing a deeper understanding of its history and evolution.


By:- Ranjan

#GalacticDiscovery #GravitationalWaves #PulsarTiming #Astrophysics #EinsteinTheory #SpaceScience #NANOGrav

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Saturn's Moon, Enceladus, Unveils Shocking Potential for Alien Life 🪐"

Image
 In a groundbreaking revelation of the cosmos, fresh evidence suggests that Saturn's moon, Enceladus, might be a hotbed for alien life within our solar system. The icy moon, shrouded in mystery, has long fascinated scientists, and now, a reanalysis of data collected by NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission has unveiled a remarkable chemical diversity that makes Enceladus a top contender in the quest for extraterrestrial life. Harvard University biophysicist Jonah Peter, the study's lead author published in Nature Astronomy, and his colleagues at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory revisited Cassini's samples, delving deeper into the molecular makeup of Enceladus's water plumes. The results? Not only did they confirm the presence of essential molecules like water, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia, but they also discovered more complex compounds—hydrocarbons like hydrogen cyanide and ethane, along with traces of partially oxidized compounds such as methanol. Initially o...
Read more

Could there be a black hole inside the sun 🌞?

Image
 Imagine our sun, the source of life, collapsing into a black hole or devoured by a wandering cosmic wanderer. Brace yourselves – the end might be closer than we think! If a massive black hole swallowed our sun, we'd have a mere eight minutes before everything changed. But what if it's a small primordial black hole? Now, that's a twist worth exploring. Primordial black holes, born in the universe's infancy, are hypothetical entities, smaller than a baseball and as massive as an asteroid. They play a role in theoretical models explaining mysteries from dark matter to the enigmatic Planet X. Enter Hawking stars – stars with a black hole at their core. New research delves into the consequences of a sun-like star capturing a primordial black hole. Initially harmless due to its minuscule mass, it could reshape the star's fate and lead to its demise over time. The study emphasizes that the outcome depends on the primordial black hole's initial size. If it falls within...
Read more

Newborn Gas Planets Flaunt Surprising Flatness!🌕🌌👩🏻‍🚀

Image
 In a groundbreaking revelation, recent research has unveiled a remarkable characteristic of newborn gas planets —they're unexpectedly flat! Imagine a world where gas giants resemble flattened Smarties or M&M s rather than the spherical behemoths we often envision. Through meticulous computer simulations, a team of scientists delved into the enigmatic realm of protostellar disks—the cosmic cradles where planets take their formative steps. Their findings, published in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters, shed light on the elusive nature of planetary formation. Observing these fledgling planets within their protostellar disks is akin to finding a needle in a cosmic haystack. Only a handful have been spotted thus far, underscoring the rarity and complexity of the process. The research unearthed fascinating insights powered by cutting-edge simulations run on DiRAC, the UK's astrophysics supercomputing facility. Protoplanets prefer a pancake-like profile, with gas streaming predo...
Read more