3Q: Scott Hughes on cosmic distances and the future of gravitational wave astronomy
Professor of physics describes our understanding of the expansion of the universe through “standard sirens.”
MIT physicist Rainer Weiss shares Nobel Prize in physics
LIGO inventor and professor emeritus of physics recognized “for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves.”
Gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger observed by LIGO and Virgo
Finding represents first joint detection of gravitational waves with both detectors.
Rainer Weiss wins Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research
Prestigious Spanish award shared with Caltech's Kip Thorne and Barry Barish and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration for work in detecting gravitational waves.
LIGO detects merging black holes for third time
Nearly 3 billion light years from Earth, the black holes are the farthest ever detected.
Seeing black holes and beyond
Through an international effort led by MIT Haystack Observatory, the ALMA array in Chile has joined a global network of radio telescopes.
David Shoemaker named spokesperson for LIGO Scientific Collaboration
Senior MIT research scientist to speak for international collaboration for gravitational wave detection research.
Scientists identify a black hole choking on stardust
Data suggest black holes swallow stellar debris in bursts.
Self-made stars
Astronomers observe black hole producing cold, star-making fuel from hot plasma jets and bubbles.
LIGO back online, ready for more discoveries
Upgrades make detectors more sensitive to gravitational waves.
Dead X-ray satellite reveals “quiet” center of massive galaxy cluster
Scientists find gas at center of Perseus cluster travels much more slowly than expected.
For second time, LIGO detects gravitational waves
Signal was produced by two black holes colliding 1.4 billion light years away.
Scientists observe supermassive black hole feeding on cold gas
Findings suggest two dining styles for black holes.
A method to image black holes
New algorithm could stitch together astronomical measurements made across the globe.
Rainer Weiss awarded the Shaw Prize in Astronomy
Physics professor emeritus shares prize with Caltech's Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever for designing the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.