Rumors reported by New Scientist are that scientists have noticed a subtle distortion of the fabric of space caused by a catastrophic collision of two neutron stars. This means that we may have caught a new type of gravitational wave. Now optical telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, are pointed at the point of a possible source of the wave: an elliptical galaxy hundreds of millions of light years away.
Gravitational waves are markers of the most violent events in our universe, arising from the collision of dense objects such as black holes or neutron stars with enormous energy. Two experiments - LIGO in the US and VIRGO in Europe - set out to detect subtle changes in the path of laser beams caused by the passage of gravitational waves.
So far, LIGO has discovered three sources of gravitational waves, all of which are colliding black holes. These two observatories have been exchanging data since November, increasing the sensitivity of the equipment. This collaboration can pay off.
Neutron stars
Last weekend, astronomer J. Craig Wheeler of the University of Texas at Austin began speculating on a potential new LIGO discovery, launching a tweet: “New LIGO. A source with an optical analogue. Go!.
By optical analog, he probably meant that astronomers can observe the light emitted by a gravitational wave source. This suggests that neutron stars are the source, since, unlike black holes, they can be seen at visible wavelengths. LIGO researchers have long foreseen this opportunity and have partnered with optical observatories to quickly track potential signals prior to the official announcement of the discovery.
LIGO spokesman David Shoemaker avoided confirming or refuting the gossip, saying only: “A very interesting O2 observation session will last until August 25th. We plan to post a major update by this time."
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Rumors are centered around NGC 4993, a galaxy 130 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra. In it, a pair of neutron stars whirl in a death dance. While astronomers are not saying if they were participating in optical observations before a potential gravitational wave was detected, the Hubble Space Telescope turned its attention to the merger of two neutron stars last night. A publicly available snapshot of this merger was later removed.
Ilya Khel
