Where Do Gravitational Waves Come From?
Gravitational waves are usually produced in an interaction between two or more compact masses. Such interactions include the binary orbit of two black holes, a merge of two galaxies, or two neutron stars orbiting each other. As the black holes, stars, or galaxies orbit each other, they send out waves of “gravitational radiation” that reach the Earth, However, once the waves do get to the Earth, they are extremely weak. This is because gravitational waves, like water waves, decrease in strength as they move away from the source. Even though they are weak, the waves can travel unobstructed within the ‘fabric’ of spacetime. This how they are able to reach the Earth and provide us with information that light cannot give. How Can We Detect Gravitational Waves? Artist’s concept of LISA. Since the waves are so weak when they reach us, scientists had to use their imaginations to come up with instruments sensitive enough to detect such slight variations in spacetime. Interferometry is the techn
