A New Window
In the next few years, astronomers hope to detect the effects of merging black holes. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a group of facilities working together to spot these gravitational waves as they pass through the Earth.
If a gravitational wave passed through the Earth, LIGO’s high-precision laser beams would flicker ever so slightly. The collaboration employs two detectors, one in Louisiana and the other in Washington. By determining the difference in detection time between each facility, researchers should be able to pinpoint the strength and location of a source.
The LIGO team is currently working to increase their detectors' sensitivity, an upgrade they expect to have done by 2014. The experiments are also working to account for a great deal of background noise. Something as simple as a truck passing outside the observatory could shake the lasers and be mistaken for a signal.
That’s why many scientists hope to someday see a space-based gravitational wave observatory. The European Space Agency is currently looking to fly the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a set of three satellites that would detect gravity waves, giving astronomers a new window on the universe.
NASA was initially going to be a partner on LISA though the agency pulled out in 2011 due to budget cuts.
Image: 1) LIGO Laboratory 2) ESA-C. Vijoux