Cosmological concept · Astrophysics

Gravitational Waves

Cosmology & UniverseEstablished Science

Definition

Ripples in spacetime produced by accelerating masses, such as merging black holes.

Scientific overview

Predicted by Einstein in 1916, gravitational waves stretch and squeeze space as they pass. The first was detected by LIGO in 2015 from two merging black holes, opening an entirely new way to observe the Universe.

Rests on

General Relativity

Related discoveries & objects

The First Detection of Gravitational Waves

Measured by

Knowledge connections

Related toBlack Hole
Related toNeutron Star
Depends onGeneral Relativity
Related toThe First Detection of Gravitational Waves
Measured byLIGO Hanford
Measured byLIGO Livingston
Measured byVirgo
Measured byKAGRA
Associated withGravitational-Wave Detection
Associated withFrame-Dragging

Sources & references

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

LIGO Scientific CollaborationLIGO Scientific Collaboration & Virgo Collaboration
Direct detections of gravitational waves from compact-object mergers.
NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

Quick facts

Type: Cosmological concept
Field: Astrophysics
Consensus: Established Science

Scientific consensus

Established Science

Observationally confirmed and consistent across all leading models.

Quality & authority

Complete

Reviewed

Description: Complete
Source coverage: Complete
Relationship coverage: Complete
Review coverage: Complete
Citation coverage: Complete
Image coverage: Not applicable

Curated from authoritative sources. See source quality.

Provenance & sources

review 2026.1

Asteria Scientific Review Process · verification: sourced · accurate

High evidenceconfirmed
Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime predicted by general relativity; the first direct detection, GW150914, was made by LIGO in 2015 from the merger of two black holes.
Source: LIGO Scientific Collaboration
- Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger, Physical Review Letters 116, 061102 (2016)doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102

Reviewed by the internal Asteria Scientific Review Process — not an external institutional review. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

Scientific citations

Real, source-backed references — primary papers first, then datasets and institutional sources. Formatted through the citation engine; nothing is fabricated.

Peer-reviewed paperGW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral

B. P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration) · Physical Review Letters 119, 161101 · 2017

LIGO Scientific Collaboration & Virgo Collaboration · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.161101

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

B. P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration) (2017). GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral. Physical Review Letters 119, 161101. LIGO Scientific Collaboration & Virgo Collaboration. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.161101

@misc{cite:ligo-gw170817,
  title        = {GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral},
  author       = {B. P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration)},
  organization = {LIGO Scientific Collaboration & Virgo Collaboration},
  howpublished = {Physical Review Letters 119, 161101},
  year         = {2017},
  doi          = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.161101},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.161101},
  note         = {First gravitational-wave detection from a binary neutron-star merger.}
}

Peer-reviewed paperObservation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger

B. P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration) · Physical Review Letters 116, 061102 · 2016

LIGO Scientific Collaboration & Virgo Collaboration · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

B. P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration) (2016). Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger. Physical Review Letters 116, 061102. LIGO Scientific Collaboration & Virgo Collaboration. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102

@misc{cite:ligo-gw150914,
  title        = {Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger},
  author       = {B. P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration)},
  organization = {LIGO Scientific Collaboration & Virgo Collaboration},
  howpublished = {Physical Review Letters 116, 061102},
  year         = {2016},
  doi          = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102},
  note         = {First direct detection of gravitational waves (event GW150914).}
}

Institutional pageGravitational Waves — NASA Universe

NASA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA (n.d.). Gravitational Waves — NASA Universe. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/

@misc{cite:nasa-cosmo-gravitational-waves,
  title        = {Gravitational Waves — NASA Universe},
  organization = {NASA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/},
  note         = {NASA science overview: Gravitational Waves.}
}

Historical referenceThe Nobel Prize in Physics 2017

2017

The Nobel Prize

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

The Nobel Prize (2017). The Nobel Prize in Physics 2017. The Nobel Prize. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2017/

@misc{cite:nobel-physics-2017,
  title        = {The Nobel Prize in Physics 2017},
  organization = {The Nobel Prize},
  year         = {2017},
  url          = {https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2017/},
  note         = {Weiss, Barish & Thorne (LIGO detector and gravitational waves).}
}

Gravitational Waves

Definition

Scientific overview

Rests on

Related discoveries & objects

Measured by

Related topics

Knowledge connections

Sources & references