Discovery · 2015 CE
The First Detection of Gravitational Waves
History of Astronomy
Overview
On 14 September 2015 the LIGO observatories recorded a ripple in spacetime from two merging black holes 1.3 billion light-years away — the first direct detection of gravitational waves.
Why it matters
Confirmed a century-old prediction of general relativity and opened gravitational-wave astronomy. The LIGO leaders received the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Objects & facilities
Bearing on theory
Knowledge connections
- Part ofContemporary Astronomy
- Discovered atLIGO Hanford
- Discovered atLIGO Livingston
- ConfirmedGeneral Relativity
- Related toGravitational Waves
- Related toBlack Hole
- Related toIntermediate-Mass Black Hole
- Related toStellar-Mass Black Hole
Sources & references
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- 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.
- The Nobel PrizeThe Nobel Foundation
Official record of Nobel laureates, prize motivations, and award years.