3D visualization of gravitational waves produced by two orbiting black holes.
Artist's impression of gravitational waves from two orbiting black holes.
Cosmic superstring loops wiggle and oscillate, producing gravitational waves, then slowly shrink as they lose energy until they disappear.
The LISA mission was planned to be the first space-based mission to attempt the detection of gravitational waves. These are ripples in spacetime that are emitted by exotic objects such as black holes.
Cataclysmic events, such as this artist's rendition of a binary-star merger, are believed to create gravitational waves that cause ripples in space-time.
The proposed Einstein Telescope gravitational wave observatory.
A diagram of the LIGO detector, which will detect the ripples in space-time by using a device called a laser interferometer. The time it takes light to travel between suspended mirrors is measured with high precision using controlled laser light.
A proposed space mission to detect gravitational waves would split atoms to search for minute acceleration changes caused by passing space-time ripples. In this artist's illustration, the red line represents a laser beam connecting the two spacecraft, and the white stars represent the atom interferometers.
