Months after the discovery of gravitational waves created by the merger of two black holes, scientists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have identified another celestial object that could be generating gravitational waves namely the neutron star.
Scientists say there is strong indication that a population of neutron stars can generate continuous gravitational waves, making their detection possible.
Neutron stars, created by the death of a giant star, are the densest observable objects in the universe, with a star of a city’s size, having a mass about 1.4 times that of the sun.
The finding comes 10 months after the discovery of gravitational waves created by the merger of two black holes, different by 7 times the mass of the Sun.
As gravitational waves are not absorbed or reflected by matter, they carry information on the motion of objects as stars and planets in the universe. This helps understand the creation of the universe and its history.
In the 1970s it was believed there was no chance of this.
Previously, gravitational waves were found only from black hole mergers.
What are Gravitational Waves?- Albert Einstein first predicted gravitational waves in 1916.
- Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration of 1,006 members from 15 countries announced the discovery of gravitational waves in February, 2016.
- Created by massive movements in the universe, such as:
- Two black holes colliding,
- Massive stars exploding, or
- The Birth of the Universe some 13.8 billion years ago
