The Laser Inerferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will detect ripples in space produced by colliding supermassive black holes.

Gravitational radiation consists of ripples in space with long wavelengths, which grow longer roughly in proportion to the amount of mass in violent motion that produces these ripples. Earthbound detectors can find gravitational radiation from individual stars as they collapse or coalesce, but detection of the longest-wavelength gravitational radiation requires a supersensitive detector located in space. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a joint venture of the United States and the European Space Agency, will deploy a system of reflecting antennas, spaced at distances of millions of kilometers, that reflect laser beams back and forth between them.

These beams will not only measure the distances between the reflectors but also detect any tiny changes in these distances (less than one-hundredth the diameter of a single atom) that arise from the passage of waves of gravitational radiation. This capability will allow LISA to measure gravitational radiation at lower frequencies than an earthbound detector can access. LISA will also be able to detect the gravitational radiation from the coalescence of supermassive black holes.

Visit the Official LISA Site

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