List of gravitational wave observations

This page contains a list of observed and candidate gravitational wave events. Gravitational waves are ripples in space and time. They are caused by very powerful events in the universe, like black holes bumping into each other or stars exploding. These waves travel at the speed of light. They were first predicted by Albert Einstein over a hundred years ago as part of his theory of general relativity.

In 2015, scientists made a big discovery. They detected the first gravitational waves ever, which proved Einstein's prediction right. This finding created a new way for us to study the universe. It lets us "listen" to events that do not give off light, like black holes merging. Since then, many more gravitational wave events have been observed. This helps scientists learn more about black holes, neutron stars, and gravity itself.

Each detection is like a message from a cosmic event. It gives clues about what happened and where. By studying these waves, researchers can explore parts of the universe that are usually hidden from us. This leads to exciting discoveries about stars, planets, and even the early universe.

Origin and nomenclature

The first time we saw gravitational waves was in 2015 thanks to the LIGO observatory. Since then, LIGO and its partner Virgo, which started in 2017, have kept watching for these tiny ripples in space and time. They look for these waves during special times called "runs," like O1, O2, and O3, when the tools are on for many months.

Gravitational wave events get names that start with "GW," followed by six numbers that tell the date of the event. For example, the first one was called GW150914, because it happened on September 14, 2015. These waves usually come from crashes between big black holes or neutron stars.

List of gravitational wave events

Gravitational waves are ripples in space and time. They are caused by very powerful events in the universe. These waves were first found by the LIGO and Virgo observatories. They work together to watch these interesting events.

The discoveries happened during special watching times, called O1, O2, and more, from 2015 to 2023. Scientists use information from these events to learn about faraway objects like black holes and neutron stars when they crash or join together. This helps us learn more about the universe and its biggest forces.

Candidate events and marginal detections

There is a possible detection of very low-frequency gravitational waves by watching the timing of pulsars, but this has not been confirmed.

In addition to clear detections, LIGO and Virgo also recorded some weaker signals during their observations. These signals are listed with details about when they were detected, how far away they might be, which detectors picked them up, and how likely it is that they were caused by something on Earth rather than actual gravitational waves.

Observations from later runs are shared quickly with scientists around the world. The third observation run ended early in 2020 because of health concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic. The fourth run began in May 2023, but some detectors had problems, and there were delays due to an earthquake in Japan. More improvements are planned for future runs.