This artistic illustration shows the gravitational waves that ripple out from two neutron stars colliding with each other. This collision also causes bursts of gamma rays to be shot out seconds after the gravitational waves.
NSF/LIGO/Sonoma State University/A. Simonnet
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NSF/LIGO/Sonoma State University/A. Simonnet
This artistic illustration shows the gravitational waves that ripple out from two neutron stars colliding with each other. This collision also causes bursts of gamma rays to be shot out seconds after the gravitational waves.
NSF/LIGO/Sonoma State University/A. Simonnet
A pivotal week in Corey Gray’s life began with a powwow in Alberta and culminated with a piece of history: the first-ever detection of gravitational waves from the collision of two neutron stars. Corey was on the graveyard shift at LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in Hanford, Washington, when the historic signal came. This episode, Corey talks about the discovery, the “Gravitational Wave Grass Dance Special” that preceded it and how he got his Blackfoot name. (encore)
This episode was produced by Devan Schwartz, edited by Gabriel Spitzer and fact-checked by Abē Levine.