damn thing shook my house, woke up my cat too!
as subtle as these things are to our natural primitive sensory organs, the whole 'universe' is one big churning potluck supper for life!
have to wonder, how many other beings got a better look at this...
great graphics, well done!
4
What an exciting article to read, which I did aloud to my husband while we were driving to the airport. It is a thrill of story, cosmic event and scientific observation. We felt like we were reading sci-fi and a movie script. Thank you Mr. Overbye and the New York Times. Lift off into the skies was a bit more exhilarating than usual.
3
"We live in a special time, the only time, where we can observationally verify that we live in a special time." --Lawrence Krauss
Kudos to the collaborators who chased this "gold rush in the sky."
Nicely done, Mr. Overbye.
6
This was head exploding. Thank you. I took one college class in Physics and electricity still scares me! And this was way better than the sTRUMPY-McConnell Rose Garden charade! Way better.
4
What LIGO and Virgo have done is completely wrong because they claimed that they have detected ripples of spacetime which does not exist in nature at all. Spacetime is a concept derived from Einstein's relativity which has already been disproved both logically and experimentally (see "Challenge to the special theory of relativity", March 1, 2016 on Physics Essays and a press release "Special Theory of Relativity Has Been Disproved Theoretically" on Eurekalert website: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/ngpi-tst030116.php ). The problem of Einstein's relativity is that it has redefined time and space through Lorentz Transformation. The newly defined time is no longer the physical time measured with physical clocks, which can be easily demonstrated by the thought experiment of candle clocks, the symmetric twin paradox, the universal synchronization of the clocks on the GPS satellites, the emission of photons by moving electrons, etc.
Astronomers are the new religionists, argueing over neutron stars & gravity waves. Here in California we wonder about wildfires, disease, homelessness, deportation, etc. You know, the petty stuff.
2
One of the first things I do in the morning is to open my iPad to the NYT to read with the daily coffee my loving husband brings me. Over the past 12 months I’ve been buried in all things Trump which has resulted in a not-very-pleasant start to my day. A couple of mornings ago I vowed to put all that to rest and search the NYT’s galaxy for stories that would put me into a better frame of mind to start my day. And OMG! I hit the jackpot this morning with the fantastic writing of Dennis Overbye and outstanding videography, also narrated by Overbye. I was transported to a place so deep and expansive and, yes, emotional, that I didn’t even know I had been longing for. A built-in meditation! And just to know that there are tens of thousands of humans on our planet doing the things they love to bring us knowledge of a tiny piece of what really IS “out there” gives me a tremendous sense of awe, wonder, peace and gratitude. Strangest thing . . . I’ve never started my day with these feelings when reading about Mr. Trump. Thank you Mr. Overbye and NYT.
7
We invite championship sports teams to the White House. Let's make sure this team gets invited. We could celebrate education, science, intellectual excellence, and exemplary human achievement (international cooperation/coordination to focus resources so quickly on shared goals).
We invite championship sports teams to the White House. Let's make sure this team gets invited. We could celebrate education, science, intellectual excellence, and exemplary human achievement (international cooperation/coordination to focus resources so quickly on shared goals).
As Colbert would say, after a hanging pause and with a hint of an impish grin, "Just kidding."
4
Don't you just love SCIENCE!!!
Congratulations to all involved.
Excellent article!
7
Our Cosmos is far more awesome and spiritual than any religious myth.
16
This is infinitely more important and interesting than anything having to do with Donald Trump. Thank you.
10
Stunning, big science enabled, knowledge enriched, elements made.
4
Dr. Holz I admire you for being extremely modest.
In my opinion luck played very limited role. The LIGO Scientific Collaboration team happen to have made all correct choices. Invariably destiny is a matter of choice and not a matter of chance.
Its hard smart work with the fantastic sense of timing sums up as good luck.
For me you are all an example of persistence and determination which went a long way in transforming an individual from being ordinary to extraordinary.
Engineers finding ways to improve LIGO's sensitivity and stability, and the physicists and astrophysicists who strive to understand the properties of the physical phenomena that generate gravitational waves certainly required astonishing hard work.
Americans can feel justly proud of the stupendous achievement.
We await with breathless excitement for the launch of James Web Telescope which "will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System".
4
"Fortune favors the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur
6
This is an absolutely fantastic article and video. Thank you so much to everyone involved for explaining this in a way that I can somewhat wrap my head around.
5
This is the most beautiful story of shared human experience I can remember. Thousands of scientists all over the planet working together on one endeavor. It not only justifies the time, money, and effort we put into science, it also shows that if people around the world can work together on other causes, there is no problem we can't solve.
12
Well written? The author's constant intermingling of mundane terms to keep the lay reader awake and able to follow is kind of annoying. He completely overdoes this is in claiming that thusly formed gold could become part of an "alien generation's jewels", which is totally ridiculous and anthrocentric, even if he is apparently kidding. The alien's will also likely be tempted to remake their version of Goldfinger or Man with the Golden Gun, being the James Bond fans that they probably are. Get serious, Mr. Overbye.
2
Can’t we find a way to blame this on Donald Trump? Lol!
2
Gee, Aaron, it must be difficult for you, being so brilliant. Perhaps this simple advice will help. "I prefer an attitude of humility regarding the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature, and of our own being." Albert Einstein
8
It is these kinds of stories that make me want to get up in the morning. THIS is what men and women (so happy they are there!) should be doing with their time; exploring the universe, asking questions, being excited not about war, or politics or personal gain and fame but in existence itself. Who are we? What are? The vastness of the universe makes us all one.
50
Great piece and very welcome in light of all the discord that seems to be engulfing the planet. It's fantastic read about humans working together rather than trying to squash their fellows into dust.
Almost gives me hope for the human race.
7
Please forgive my reaction but this brings out the 13 year old in me, as I hope it does in us all. VERY KOOL! Science has once again fulfilled that which is most ancient in us hasn't it? A trait we've had since we came down out of the trees. Seeing is believing. Hearing "a noise" out there and whipping the entire planetary observation system around to staring at one particular point in the universal sky is proof not only of theory but of the singular nature of our collective consciousness. Bravo, LIGO et.al., BRAVO! Take a well deserved bow! May your actions be a harbinger of our future well being as a united species.
John~
American Net'Zen
11
Bravo! Hallelujah! For further limiting our human ignorance by scientific enlightenment.
4
I have one criticism of this fascinating article and of the Times for publishing it. It should really have been preceded by a "trigger warning" to all the fact-denying science advisors in the Trump administration who reject the scientific method and to all the Republicans and their bible-thumping constituents who insist that the universe and everything in it is 7,000 years old that the article contains information that may make them uncomfortable. And not only because the phenomenon described here undermines the human conceit of geocentrism along with several other cherished fundamentalist religious beliefs but because of the even more subversive ideas implicit in the article that basic research matters, that government has a role to play in sponsoring it, and that seeking knowledge about the universe may not only yield practical applications but is a noble end in and of itself. How could the Times be so insensitive?
13
What a beautiful video. Thank you
WOW!
A wonderful article explaing well to a non physicist.
And one of the few stories of this alt universe which did not mention Trump.
That itself is a big achievement worthy of a Nobel.
5
Sure makes me, and all of life on earth, seem rather insignificant in the scheme of things. At the same time, all this mumbo jumbo is a kind of intellectual terrorism for those of us who can't wrap our minds around the idea of hundreds of millions of years. As Pascal said, as he struggled to resist the Scientific Revolution, "the silence of these Infinite spaces frightens me."
1
Let us express our humble gratitude to all the world's scientists, who have made it possible through the ages for humanity to look upon the universe with wonder, reverence, and imagination.
May they survive the onslaught.
9
Every time I read about a new discovery in science I get this rush of emotions: Wonder, excitement, pride, joy, and at the same time deep humility. What possible connections do I have to these brilliant women and men? They are letting us explore and learn about something that is 130 million light-years distant. I sometimes ask myself; are we really the same species?
In any case they have my sincere thanks, these Seekers of Truth.
And then we have our current government.......those Purveyors of Perjury and Prevarication.
It is difficult to recouncile these two extremes of human acheivement.
9
Again, fantastic article, It just dawned on me how all those Trump coal diggers might start wanting to go space exploring… Oh yeah they already are: wanting to go to Mars and all, because as they used to say out west: "There's gold in them stars out there"
1
This is the type of article that keeps me paying my expensive NYTs subscription. I am sometimes even oftentimes critical of the Times' often neoliberal slant - but today I have only one thing to say, with tears in my eyes...
Thanks!
4
Now we know how to get rid of Donald Trump.
This article said:
"Dr. Metzger estimated that an amount of gold equal to 40 to 100 times the mass of the Earth could have been produced over a few days and blown into space."
Tell Trump about it. He couldn't resist so much gold and will want to blast off pronto. Of course, it will take forever to get there (It's 130 million light years away), but he probably won't understand that detail.
3
Nature rules, God drools!
5
A wonderful piece and the thrill of some other perspective than Trump's latest comments. The patience of scientists is extraordinary. I wonder if it would sound stupid to ask whether the shock waves from this smashup may have disturbed our atmosphere and contributed to the strength of the almost Detroit-style production line of huge hurricanes?
1
There are no stupid questions, Jill, but the answer is no. If a gamma ray burst happens close enough to affect us, we are toast.
3
Absolutely fabulous. This is some of the greatest stuff ever to happen With your clothes on,as they say and it's such a coincidence that they just got this LIGO and the European counterpart detecting a big gravitational waves – confirming it, then a whole slew of other detectors and visible light observatories also Verifying theory.
Screw politics, I am going keep paying attention to the pure sciences.
4
Lucky is right. What a remarkably fortunate coincidence. It's like watching the pitch-drop experiment only the cameras are spread across the world and usually pointed elsewhere. That and the drop is 130 million years old. I'm glad the team could spin everything around in time. I would have felt bad if they'd missed this one.
1
I always feel a lack of confidence in saying I am cynical about this kind of stuff b/c I've never really taken a physics course (I took a course titled Physics 0/Western Civ. 0 in college, but it wasn't about either) and have no advanced math. I just like reading about physics for most of my adult life. I suppose my real problem is that things are stated as facts that seem, even if well analyzed, subject to a lot of speculation. And, because in the history of science there have been many times when a supposedly very solid apple cart was overturned, I find it very difficult to believe, not in the more recent developments. So, while I think I have a rudimentary understanding of gravity and relativity (which generally makes sense to me), and the paradoxes of quantum physics, there are a host of things like dark energy, dark matter, string theory, multiverses, etc. that I seriously doubt. Even things that physicists feel have been proven, like Higgs boson and gravitons, aren't proven to me, after I read up as best I can on how it is that they come to those conclusions. Of course, it doesn't matter to the universe or any other person whether I believe in these things or not and I don't know if I'll be around when it can seem more certain one way or the other. But, just in case there is anyone else out there who doubts these things, you are not alone out there.
2
Reasonable doubt in the face of inconclusuve evidence is what drives science and research forward. I am very much like you and am reminded of Tommy Lee Jones speaking to Will Smith in Men In Black. Paraphrased, he said eight hundred years ago man believed Earth was the center of the universe. Four hundred years ago man believed the Earth was flat. And four hours ago you believed there weren't aliens walking around Manhattan.
One of the beauties of science is that science is self correcting, unlike religion. Every scientific theory is subject to new evidence or new formulations. A scientific theory is always on the top wrung of the ladder of knowledge as the best currant explanation of how things work. Quantum physics does not follow our macro conception of common sense. You have to follow the math, just as is flying in bad weather. You have to believe the instruments rather than what you feel in the seat of your pants.
6
How refreshing to read about a real and clear event. I am grateful for science, scientists and writers like Mr. Overbye.
I cannot comprehend how anything can spin 1000 times in one second. How does one incorporate such a fantastic fact into one's imagination?
11
Such a well written article -- as impressive as the astrophysical event itself!
I love Dennis Overbye's line about "the origin of bling." He makes even the most complex physics notions understandable. And even fun.
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dennis Overbye -- what a powerful ticket for the next White House! Let's put science where it belongs!
16
Nice to have some good news for a change, even if it's only on the macrocosmic level. (The microcosm is a real downer these days.) Thanks for the uplift!
13
WOW. If there's a god, then this is surely her at work!
Hats off to these wonderfully brilliant scientists who gave us firstly, the means to behold this event, and secondly, the ability to comprehend what we are witnessing.
7
" In the coming eons, (the gold) could be incorporated into new stars and planets and in some far, far day become the material for an alien generation’s jewels."
Mr. Overbye badly missed the mark on this projection. The event took place 11 billion years ago -- NOT IN AUGUST. So the gold was made into now-ancient trinkets by alien jewelers long ago and far away.
For proof, you have only to check out Princess Leia's slave outfit.
13
Awesome but when did this actually happen? That this galaxy is 130 million light years away, are we now witnessing an event that happened when dinosaurs roamed Earth?
3
All you had to do was watch the video
Wow- what a great story- kudos to all the scientists!!!
I will try not to think of how the policies of our current administration could so easily eliminate this basic science research - and "basic" in no way implies "simple"
6
4,000 authors? Should I have my name on there as a taxpayer? Evidently such unusual physical phenomena also require unusual thinking about research credits!
1
If you look at the scientific publication (https://physics.aps.org/featured-article-pdf/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.161..., you will find yourself acknowledged in first place: as funding taxpayer supporting the NSF. Thanks for your generous support!
6
... And on the subject of research credits: how sad that Einstein never received a Nobel Prize for his theory of relativity!
3
Congratulations to all the scientists! And the cosmic dance of creation and destruction.
By the way, I do not think all the heavy elements (gold, silver, platinum or uranium) came from the collision of the neutron stars, as you say here. They were cooked inside the sun and we have just inherited some. And sun is not descendent of some black hole of the past era.
But great story anyway.
1
your knowledge is rather sketchy
1
Great article on a fascinating event! So lucky to be able to detect the GW in spite of the LA facility malfunction, and lucky the GRB originated in a relatively close galaxy and in a location that was visible to the telescopes. But it was not luck that brought together the will and creative genius of physicists, astronomers, cosmologists, and engineers and the funding that made such ambitious projects possible. Kinda gives you just a little more hope about the future of the human species, that brilliant people are doing brilliant things that enhance our knowledge of the universe.
I am curious: Why (after 130 million years) did the gamma burst arrive at earth two seconds after the gravitational waves?
4
Mosttoothless: A guess: the gravatational waves were flowing out, and getting stronger and more detectable, as the two neutron stars spun about each other faster and faster ... and the gama ray burst happened only once they touched.
2
Right after merging, the neutron stars released massive amounts of matter via shockwaves, and it was this material that emitted the gamma ray burst. So the two second delay likely has a lot to do with the dynamics of that expanding cloud of debris.
3
Amazing! Made me proud to be scientist (even if not in the same discipline).
5
Thank you NYT, and Neil deGrasse Tyson and all the brainiac astrophysicists who dumb this stuff down just enough that mere mortals can grasp at the awe and wonder.
This type of piece always makes me feel better. Confirmation that we are just specks, nanospecks, whatever is even less than a nanospeck, and we are surely just here no time at all.
Trump be d*&xed ... the world is waaaay bigger than him and his foolishness. (If only he could acknowledge that.)
24
There were many interesting items discussed in this article. Not only did astronomers observe a collision of two neutron stars, estimate how much heavy metals were created, but also recoded the sound the the final merger. Not only that, they detected a gamma ray burst. All, 100 plus million light years away.
Detection of a gamma ray burst is important, as such an event, closer to Earth could extinguish life on the planet. So, this research could be helpful in detecting events which could negatively impact Earth.
Again, this was a very interesting story, especially for those who are always at awe with the universe.
12
Science! Facts! What a refreshing perspective... No imaginary sky gods....
11
What, the universe is not 10,000 years old?
10
I thought I read somewhere it was only 5600 years old
I guess it's going to be a while before my pot of gold gets here. Puts it in perspective as usual.
6
I experienced the totality of the eclipse for 2:20 in South Carolina on 8/21.
Now this.
I am so thankful that I’ve lived to see all this.
It is beyond comprehension that Einstein predicted gravitational waves over 100 years ago. The Ascent of Man has been carried on the backs of heros like him and the scientists who proved him right.
I’m so proud to be a human being.
Thank you gentleman, thank you, thank you, thank you.
13
Really makes you stop and think about how insignificant we really are, just a blip in space and time - the trivial day-to-day worries and stresses are really, truly nothing. Thanks for waking us all up!
10
Interesting and dramatic but not really "staggering insights" since it appears all the initial observations fit with known physics.
1
Certainly a tribute to the theorists, but until these observations, it was not yet 'known physics'.
2
Beautiful story. Well written!
I am curious as to why there was a 2 second delay between the LIGO and light reaching the earth?
2
Because the gravitational waves were the result of the two neutron stars spiralling into each other, where the gamma rays were emitted by subsequent explosive events. Even later events produced x-rays, visible light and radio waves, all of which were observed in due course.
1
Amazing science and amazing writing. Well done.
5
The science is incredible but I have to add to all the comments which confirm why I feel such a happy swell after reading this: the writer's skill makes this accessible to anyone but still deeply satisfying for everyone including space geeks. A lesser writer's article would not have reached so many budding young scientists as Mr. Overbye's clearly is. Way to go.
15
What a story . This is such a well written article. I have a hard time grasping these events but the writing makes it understandable to me the layman. Well done
11
Wonderful writing. Please, please mention the federal agency that took a big leap of faith in science by funding this research for many years: THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=243382&org=NSF&fr...
40
A tribute to all that is best in humanity - an international team of scientists working together to uncover the stunning secrets of nature. Let's just hope that the worst in humanity - climate science denial, nationalistic rivalries, etc - will not destroy us, and end our quest
11
Absolutely spectacular observation! Outstanding science and outstanding writing. It just doesn't get better than this!!!!
6
Alright I'm convinced it works now. That is really clever to use LIGO and our GRB sensors to narrow down the source and then follow up with optical and radio telescopes. What will they think of next?
It would be nice if we could detect neutrinos and their energy to determine the types of heavy element fusion that occurs in a neutron star collisions. The spectrum of the light for the collision is a mess and the neutrinos might allow us to directly observe the nucleosynthesis process.
1
I read this article with a sense of absolute awe. We've come a long long way in the last few hundred years. There is such profound magic in the universe and collective human action just serves to amplify this. Thank you for this riveting article, you've conveyed a sense of scale, majesty and thriller-like science reporting that I seldom see. If I had read this 20 years ago I would have been inspired to embark on a very different career path.
9
It is mind-boggling that we can 'miss' this cosmic event by 130 million years and yet learn that our astrophysicists have observed and recorded it in our equivalent of 'real' time. Our sense of possibility can only be expanded by such an astonishing feat.
We need a new word to describe the psychological benefits that can accrue to the human race when we are able, en masse, to appreciate the full significance of such a wonder.
With the word 'oceanic' we can effectively reference a depth of feeling that approaches the mystical, but 'transcendent' and even 'cosmic' don't quite manage to encapsulate the enormity of what has here entered our consciousness.
Perhaps nominating such events 'full-array' could come to indicate their magnificence. If I'm not mistaken, that usage would be a big step up from 'gong show.'
11
Ineffable in all its glory yet encapsulated by a shimmer of knowledge in the cryptic mirror of space-time.
9
Now THAT is in itself a near-ineffable mouthful!
2
Beautiful. It goes to show what the humans can accomplish if we work as a collective.
9
A fantastic story of an incredible cosmic collision! Perhaps the energy expelled from this event will penetrate all schools, not just STEM schools, inspiring some students, perchance, to dream.
But after absorbing the waves of information of this story, I'm struck by the fact that:
a) There's only 10,000 professional astronomers in the/this world???
and
b) Only 77 people are inspired to comment? Why so few?
For me, a great read the day after I visited the Kennedy Space Center.
8
40 to 100 Earth-masses of gold?
Now that's some science even Trump can get behind!
7
Color me curmudgeonly, but it seems so primitive to assign verbiage such as "catastrophe" when what is happening is not only a natural process, but also the most proverbially constant: change. Would I wish to endure such an event? Of course not; such an event on this planet would, for all the living, seem indeed catastrophic, albeit one, too, of change. Conversely, at least these "doomed" neutron stars never had to endure a day on a planet with Trump, so in the grand scheme of things,
who's the real victim?
6
The fundamental discovery was made by Taylor and Hulse in 1975 when they found the first "binary pulsar" and inferred (from its changing orbit) the emission of gravitational radiation, in accurate agreement with Einstein's predictions. They then predicted that such double neutron stars would eventually coalesce, emitting a burst of gravitational radiation. That is now verified, but hardly a surprise because the theory was so well established.
9
Special kudos and thanks to Dennis for a spectacularly well written article. The language and description painted more vivid pictures - and challenged our imagination - than photographs. Great stuff!
9
This is the most interesting stuff there is, to me at least. And the people who do this work are incredibly smart. But it makes me wistful. I so wanted to be an astronomer when I was a kid but barely get through algebra. So I went to law school. That was a mistake of astronomical proportions.
34
Well, I missed the fireworks but this is one of the best stories I've read in a few light years- well ok, a longtime. This is one gorgeous piece of work! Wow and thanks.
11
“It’s all just too good to be true. But as far as we can tell it’s really true. We’re living the dream.”
Yes we are. It is called INFINITY.
5
Kudos to the astronomers for detecting an energy burst that occurred 130 million years ago.
Now the scribblers of the popular press can invent news on huge amounts of gold and other precious metals, ready to be harvested in space.
4
I don't think too many are going to get the absolute humor in your last sentence.
Bravo !
"Neutron stars are about 12 miles in diameter and are extremely dense." Wait. ALL of 'em are 12 miles in diameter? How could anybody ever possibly know that?
2
Theory. But it seems robust.
2
We're very smart. :)
4
The range of masses for neutron stars is limited. Too little and you get a white dwarf star made of highly compressed ordinary matter, too heavy and you get a black hole. The diameter goes up as the cube root of the mass, which means even less variation. And the article did say "about."
10
"we are stardust"
11
Golden, too, apparently.
6
Very exciting.
6
The collision rattled space-time ...
No foolin! Let's hop a ride on that baby, go back to last Nov 8, and get it right this time.
51
Elon making slight correction to BFR's destination. 40 Earths of gold, I dare say...
2
CalTech AND MIT - way to go!
8
We taxpayers certainly get our money's worth from these incredible machines (think Voyager, Cassini, Hubble.)
95
Wow. And Wow again. A hundred and thirty million years of Wow! What a read. What a time we live in.
61
only 130 million years? just a really narrow slot in all of eternity, what luck too, that humans happened to emerge, develop and get "bright enough" to report this !
5
Given the number of galaxies, stars and planets, and the near 100% likelihood that (more) intelligent life exists somewhere, I can almost certainly say some other life form already has seen this happen.
2
Oh yes. It really matters to the universe that "we" figured this out
I'm sure ancient cavemen must have felt the same thrill the first time they saw a drop of water strike the surface of a still pond. Wow is probably wow in all languages and hasn't changed a bit over time.
7
Wow! What an amazing discovery!
6
"...were formed in a cosmic gong show that reverberated across the heavens..."
That's poor usage. You're trying to convey awesome scale and tremendous energies, and the metaphor you've chosen evokes second-rate absurdist comedy.
1
Which is exactly why it's called a Kilonova and not a Supernova!
1
Right on, NYT! I love that writing like this still exists. My subscription just paid for itself.
12
I have to believe that this event has been observed, or will be observed, elsewhere in our universe. Maybe one day we can compare data.
11
These types of articles are worth the cost of the nytimes subscription. Fabulous! !! more please! I wish, I hope there remain few if not more humans as time passes who continue these wonderful studies and give humanity a bit of hope for survival against the craziness of the many. There are good folks.
19
The script is good, if not poetic at times. However, please find a different voice to narrate Mr. Overbye's videos. His voice is annoying and amateurish. It does not do justice to his reporting.
I like his narration. Calm and objective without excessive emphasis.
3
If time/space can ripple, also it can be sundered. If so such an event were it two super massive black holes would originate a new universe, there being no place or time for the resultant energy to remain. Universes giving birth. Oh -- I will gladly take advice about how I might change the light bulbs in my house :)
2
Very cool; congratulations, LIGO team/CalTech/physics community!
7
How about that for some mind-blowing perspective on a suddenly remarkable Monday afternoon! And so beautifully and accessibly written! Bravo and thank you, Dennis Overbye and NYT!
79
The more we know, the more there is to know. This report exemplifies how ignorant we are, still, about the forces that govern the Universe. Excellent video.
47
My initial thought was to imagine President Trump getting the news and labeling it fake.
Then I put my cynicism aside, and reveled in reading a story about science I know almost nothing about, yet getting that tingling feeling of excitement the more I read. This is what those kids in STEM courses need to hear about so they, too, can get science and discovery under their skin, become addicted to the feeling, and take us where none of us has gone before. Kudos to all the brilliant and hard-working nerds, geeks and geniuses throughout the U.S. and around the world who have just reminded us in these perilously atavistic times for intelligence, that as a species we humans still have the power to liberate ourselves from the shackles of agenda-driven limitation and willful ignorance.
1
The video is fascinating but at 3’26” it gets stuck and cannot continue. I tried running it several times but never Too bad.
1
That is probably on your end. It ran fine for many of us.
2
Fantastic show of energy and creation,,,huaaaa
2
Thank you for a great article... I especially liked the "tortured space-time" description for a black hole. But is a black hole "empty"?
1
It's less than empty.
1
Great discovery. But I wish science journalists (and sometimes scientists) would be more precise in their language. Colloquial and poetic expressions can be misleading and hinder comprehension. “a ‘cosmic forge,’ where the world’s jewels were minted.” These events fuse lighter elements’ nuclei into heavier elements such as gold, platinum and uranium; they would not form “jewels” (mineral crystals). “Mysterious.” There is nothing mysterious about these events; they were predicted to happen, completely in accordance with the laws of physics, but had not yet been observed. “seen and heard.” “LIGO recorded the sound of two giant black holes colliding.” The neutron stars colliding were seen yes, in various frequencies of electromagnetic radiation (light); but not heard. Sound does not travel through the vacuum of space, and a gravitational wave would not engage your auditory system. The gravitational wave signature was “transcribed” or translated into vibrations of air that an ear can hear. “black holes, which are composed of empty tortured space-time. . . But neutron stars are full of stuff.” Black holes are hardly empty; they contain the mass of from one to billions of stars. While we don’t know exactly what form this mass has at the center of a black hole (singularity or something else), it is most definitely “there.” “cosmic gong show.” “blitzkrieg of radiation.” “big splat.” Just silly. Colloquialisms and “dumbing it down” are not necessary for understanding or readability.
4
Agreed. The oldest black holes, hardly empty, are the lynchpins of galaxies- including our own. Indeed if one were curious as to where to find the remains of the very first generation of stars that lit up the universe, the center of each galaxy contains at least one of them. Still there, still exerting gravitational attraction, along with the millions of solar masses that piled in on top of it...just not visible.
I'm pretty fussy about accuracy, evidence, clear language, and critical analysis but I can't agree. There is a place for an article on a *very* complex subject like this one. In fact, you're reacting to Dennis Overbye's ability to make the complex seem simple(r) and put it in terms people can relate to. There is nothing wrong with that. For those who want the whole story there will be many articles in the journals to refer to.
3
I agree with most of your post, but "big splat" is no sillier than "Big Bang," "Big Crunch," or "big bounce."
Thanks for this well-explained video. I now understand the gravity of the situation.
11
Fantastic! Thank you for this healthy dose of cosmic reality. Certainly helps to maintain perspective.
9
Fantastic story and videos. Thank you!
9
It is thrilling that we mine,
wear and glitter
in the death spirals
and the massive collisions of stars
dashing head on and extruding their substance
as neutrons
into the universe to transmute atoms,
to gold, platinum and uranium,
there are no gods but stars,
there are no gardens or Edens
or 6 days of "Let there be this or that!"
There are only the effects of gamma rays
X Rays and radio waves
and the almost inaudible squeak
of gravitational waves
from light years away
and afar
the birth and the death throes of stars
to make us who we are.
22
Beautiful. I was thinking about that this is a kind of event people can write a poem about well someone did...........
2
Thanks.
1
Beautiful Indeed. Thank you !
2
I am totally shocked that we could be reading about serious scientific developments and mention social media in the same breath. Maybe this is mac Donald's revenge or even Silicon valley control over this poor planet. But what ever it is, I do hope we go out quickly before we continue to damage the physical and spiritual world. I can already hear ET crying to go home!!!
1
What a privilege to experience a single event answering (or at least providing deep insight into) so many open questions. Once VIRGO came online and sources could be localized, it was clear that we were in for a new level of richness in discovery -- but how magnificently the promise has been confirmed!
19
What a wonderful example of science writing--conveying both the grandeur of the universe and the human excitement of the chase to learn! Thank you, Dennis Overbye.
34
Kudos to professionals at work! The chance to detect massive cosmic events and the award ceremonies for their work are the rewards of decades of consistent work. I'd like to think days like this are encouraging to the countless researchers and scholars who quietly (often thanklessly) go about advancing human knowledge in their respective fields.
71
This is a fantastic discovery and confirmation, originating back to 1967 when the first gamma-ray burst was discovered, through 1973 when they were 'declassified,' through the NASA/Gamma-Ray Observatory's BATSE Experiment form 1991-2000, and now with the observation of gravitational radiation and LIGO, concomitant with FERMI/GBM event. Predicted as early as 1998 by Li and Paczynski (https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9807272). Wow, a great exclamation point to a 50-year enigma/mystery. (One small note - the first fireball associated with a burst was in 1997, GRB970508, identified by the Dutch/Italian satellite BeppoSax. This burst's host galaxy has a redshift of 0.008, making it slightly closer than the 0.0097 redshift of this GRB.) And this happens about once per day in the Universe....
32
WOW!!!!
10
LIGO rocks...
12
How cool is that.
8
The voiceover for the video is a beautiful piece of science writing.
20
It's an amazing story. I love gravity waves.
I would like to take issue with the coinage, kilonova. Kilo is clearly less than super. This should have been called a superdupernova. Perhaps dupernova for short.
13
They are called kilonovae because they explode with about 1000 times more energy than garden variety supernovae. The term hypernova aka. superluminous supernova refers to highly energetic core collapses of stars at least 30 solar masses. They release about 10 times as much energy as supernovae. Finally, the term nova refers to the merger of two red dwarf stars or a red dwarf and white dwarf. So there you go- some nova terminology.
6
Actually, "nova" refers to a thermonuclear eruption of red dwarf matter that has been accreted by a white dwarf.
3
What an amazing time to be sentient in the universe. Our species is in the process of climbing our way out of the primordial ooze and starting to appreciate the wonder around us. I hope that more will stop looking over their should with suspicion and start to look up in amazement.
123
Your president recently did, although it was not a good idea. Sorry, couldn't resist.
5
Actually, we are on our way back to the primordial ooze. I'm already dragging my knuckles. Can't wait for gills.
2
Or Trump.
1
Congratulations to all the scientists involved. But congratulations also to Dennis Overbye for such a beautifully written piece. From his opening line to the very end, it is an example of his engaging and accessible science writing. Thank you Mr. Oberbye.
252
Yes!! Beautiful, accurate, emotional, evocative, efficient writing that only ever serves the science. Put it in a bottle and sell it! (No really, I hope a bunch of young science writers/journalists are apprenticing with him.)
1
Just what one would expect from the author of Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, deservedly still in print after nearly 20 years.
1
Bravo! I'm staring at my wedding ring and trying to imagine a kilanova several hundred million years ago that produced this incredible cosmic connection. Both the video and the article gave me a fascinating glimpse into this stunning event. For a rare moment, I was able to forget the political insanity vexing our country and meditate instead on wonders like: "neutron stars are full of stuff, matter packed at the density of Mount Everest in a teaspoon." Many, many thanks!
160
Mazama I just realized that I misunderstood your post, and of course that you realized your ring - and mine - were made in a much more ancient kilonova explosion.
1
Yes, Robert, you're correct that I was referring to another kilanova. I just liked that this piece connected these phenomena for me.
2
@Mazama of Seattle: The gold in your wedding ring is older than 100s of millions of years. The event that made your gold is older than Earth - a good guess is in the range 6,000,000,000 to 12,000,000,000 years
4
Wonderful article! Fantastic tribute to all the physicists, cosmologists, astronomers, engineers and teams in space technology who have made it possible to discover and understand so much more of the fabric of the universe. These are the new explorers, greater in their way as Magellan, Columbus, and Cook. Once again, the genius of Einstein and Chandrasekhar and the other giants of the last century shines out.
The article brings back the moment when some would say the world of today opened out: In 1572, Tycho Brahe observed a new star, a supernova in the constellation Cassiopeia. So he knew that the cosmology of the world since Aristotle was mistaken, and the heavens above were not unchanging. It took a few more decades before the work of Kepler and Galileo firmly established the beginnings of the scientific revolution to which we owe the modern world.
167
Thank you. Although I am not a scientist, I feel fortunate to be able to share in this thrilling event through the excellent article and video. The insights into the universe provided by science are unquestionably among the greatest achievements of humanity.
38
Dennis, you inject a welcome poetry into these celestial events in a way that's rare in media today. We hear, read, observe, and share your fascination with these celestial processes and mysteries that are so immensely larger than us. Personally, as an amateur astronomer, I love to see these well-produced clips to fire our imaginations. Thank you so much, and never doubt that many of us appreciate these discoveries and your coverage of them!
51
Thank you very much for a fascinating and understandable article - even with my
freshman chemistry. Please keep trying to inform and educate us less
technically educated people on the advances and discoveries in these
fields. It is mind boggling that Einstein predicted so much of this 100 years
ago.
27
Truly amazing. What small particles we all are in this universe? Hope we soon learn to take of the world we live in.
7
Huh? We are normal sized particles... and your second sentence does not make sebse..
1
@Logan: mharm is pretty obviously speaking metaphorically of the relative insignificance of our PARTICULAR group of "particles" in comparison to an astronomical event like the collision of celestial bodies. Many people find the observance of such phenomena to be humbling in a way that makes the events on our planet seem petty in terms of the cosmic events. Some people, on the other hand, have egos that insulate them from such musings. They wouldn't get it.
3
Makes sense to me.
1
"Meanwhile, the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, which orbits Earth looking at the highest-energy radiation in the universe, recorded a brief flash of gamma rays just two seconds after the LIGO chirp."
What could cause the gamma rays to arrive two seconds after the gravitational waves? If gravitational waves travel at the speed of light, shouldn't have they arrived at the same time as (or slightly before/after) the gamma rays)?
6
Just a guess from a layman here, but iirc the speed of light doesn't apply to gravitational waves because the waves actually warp the fabric of space, so the speed of light isn't technically broken--even if they ripple through space more quickly than the limit.
3
They ought to arrive at the same time if they were emitted at exactly the same time. Otherwise, a delay is absolutely possible.
The gravitational waves were generated in a small space a few tens of miles across, which is about the size of a neutron star. The gamma rays were probably produced further out when the energy of the collision reached a certain point in the surrounding gases. Two seconds is only 360,000 miles, so they were still close relative to the size of the system. The Sun is 800,000 miles in diameter. The whole system containing the neutron stars was full of matter out to the equivalent of the orbit of Neptune, roughly 5 billion miles.
12
Amazing. Thanks New York Times.
27
Thank you for the extremely descriptive article on this neutron star phenomenon. I felt like I was right back in my college cosmology course, or at least high school science class.
When paired with the renderings and video, it gives an awe-inspiring glimpse into the scale and majesty of this universe, our home. We need more of this, and astronomy has perhaps a unique ability to reach people, to bring them out of the everyday and remind them of the grandeur of life.
100
Spot on. Astronomical events like these remind us that whatever be a our earthly misgivings, it is the same violent faraway unlikely events that is responsible for the transient existence of all of us on Earth. So it's important to care for one another and enjoy life in the short time that we have before it's over.
4