LIGO: A NEW WAY TO EXPLORE THE UNIVERSE

LIGO is a joint project operated by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and funded by the National Science Foundation. Its purpose is to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool.

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a facility dedicated to the detection of cosmic gravitational waves and the measurement of these waves for scientific research. It consists of two widely separated installations within the United States, operated in unison as a single observatory. This observatory is available for use by the world scientific community, and is a vital member in a developing global network of gravitational wave observatories.  More..
 


Throughout human history, we have viewed the cosmos in a similar way. First with our unaided eyes, and then with telescopes, we learned to view a broad variety of radiation -- including infrared light, x-rays, gamma rays and radio waves.

Today we know that only about 10% of the matter in the universe can be observed in this way. What new tools can we use to learn about the majority of matter in the universe?

LIGO is an instrument for sensing the presence of matter, whether shining or dark, in the distant reaches of the cosmos. LIGO does this by detecting the gravitational waves -- ripples in the force of gravity -- created by violent events such as the collisions of stars and the vibrations of black holes.
 
 

Gravitational Waves in the News...

LIGO In the News...

Catching Einstein's Waves Technology Review,  May/June 2008
MIT physicists looking for gravitational waves are tackling one of the world's hardest engineering problems. The result could be a whole new way to investigate the universe.

Get involved...

Einstein@Home Use your computer's idle time to search for spinning neutron stars April 11, 2008:   The results of the Einstein@Home search on LIGO S4 data have been officially released...