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An 'unknown' burst of gravitational waves just lit up Earth's detectors:
Earth's gravitational wave observatories -- which hunt for ripples in the fabric of space-time -- just picked up something weird. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo detectors recorded an unknown or unanticipated "burst" of gravitational waves on Jan. 14.
The gravitational waves we've detected so far usually relate to extreme cosmic events, like two black holes colliding or neutron stars finally merging after being caught in a death spiral. Burst gravitational waves have not been detected before and scientists hypothesize they may be linked to phenomena such as supernova or gamma ray bursts, producing a tiny "pop" when detected by the observatories.
This unanticipated burst has been dubbed, for now, S200114f, and was detected by the software that helped confirm the first detection of gravitational waves.
[...] Astronomers have already swung their telescopes to the interesting portion of the sky, listening in across different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum for a whisper of what might have occurred.
Previously:
LIGO Observes Lower Mass Black Hole Collision
First Joint Detection of Gravitational Waves by LIGO and Virgo
LIGO May Have Detected Merging Neutron Stars for the First Time
GW170104: Observation of a 50-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence at Redshift 0.2
Europe's "Virgo" Gravitational Wave Detector Suffers From "Microcracks"
LIGO Black Hole Echoes Hint at General-Relativity Breakdown
LIGO Data Probes Where General Relativity Might Break Down
Did the LIGO Gravitational Wave Detector Find Dark Matter?
Second Detection of Gravitational Waves Announced by LIGO
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday January 15 2020, @07:00PM (5 children)
but, Betelgeuse is "still there" in the visible spectrum.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 15 2020, @07:23PM
I was wondering if it was from that star which is dimming in Orion's belt.
(Score: 1) by sfm on Wednesday January 15 2020, @09:13PM
Gravity waves are predicted to travel at the speed of light..... Could we find an optical
version of this "event" and test this hypothesis ?
Alternative statement: "Can you see Betelgeuse now ?? "
(Score: 3, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Thursday January 16 2020, @09:05PM (2 children)
Is it possible the core of Betelgeuse has collapsed but the shock waves have yet to effect the surface or brightness of the star?
I hope they are watching it closely, if the core did collapse we should see the effects in the next few days/weeks
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by D2 on Thursday January 16 2020, @09:29PM
Imagine if that's the case. Being able to detect the moment your star collapses, but likely utterly lacking the tech to outrun the anticipated supernova.
(NB: I'm no expert, but my understanding is that Betelgeuse is fiercely unlikely to have a healthy earthlike planet around it. Young, red giant with a huge radius, and vastly-variable radiation.)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday January 16 2020, @09:54PM
I'd bet there are several large telescopes trained on Betelgeuse 24-7 at this point.
Anything is possible, we haven't observed a good local supernova since Gallileo.
🌻🌻 [google.com]