LIGO back online, ready for more discoveries
Thursday, December 1, 2016 - 08:01
in Astronomy & Space
Today (November 30), scientists restarted the twin detectors of LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, after making several improvements to the system. Over the last year, they have made enhancements to LIGO's lasers, electronics, and optics that have increased the observatory's sensitivity by 10 to 25 percent. The detectors, scientists hope, will now be able to tune in to gravitational waves—and the extreme events from which they arise—that emanate from farther out in the universe.