UofG gravitational astrophysicists celebrate neutron star collision observation

The publication of a new observation of gravitational wave data is being celebrated by researchers from the University of Glasgow's Institute for Gravitational Research, who helped support the international collaborations which made the detection possible. On April 25, 2019, the observatory known as LIGO Livingston picked up what appeared to be gravitational ripples from a collision of two neutron stars - only the second time this type of event has ever been observed by gravitational wave astronomy. LIGO Livingston is part of a gravitational-wave network that includes LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the European Virgo detector. Physicists from the University of Glasgow's Institute for Gravitational Research played important roles in the development and construction of both LIGO and the data analysis which allows the collaboration to pick out the gravitational wave signals. The UK's contribution to the collaborations is funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The first such observation of neutron star collisions, which took place in August of 2017, made history for being the first time that both gravitational waves and light were detected from the same cosmic event. The April 25 merger, by contrast, did not result in any light being detected.