Cosmic Skeletons Dancing in a Stellar Graveyard

An international research collaboration, including four Northwestern University astronomers, is the first to detect the spectacular collision of two neutron stars in a nearby galaxy using both gravitational waves and light.

The discovery ushers in an exciting new era in astronomy –multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves –less than two years after the first detection of gravitational waves opened a new window onto the universe.

Credit: LIGO-Virgo / Northwestern

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