Post #5

Post #5

  

     To be honest, I've been struggling to come up with topics to discuss for these weekly blog posts. For as much as I love astronomy and space related things, my brain draws a blank when it comes time to write. I feel overwhelmed sometimes with the amazing nature of the universe and all it has to offer for these blog posts, and yet, I feel there is scarcity in things I actually wish to discuss on a personal level which the reader can relate to. I am torn between being too formal and factual, and being too dull and discussing what my favorite constellation is, for example. Point is, space can be intimidating, both in it's own nature and when it comes to these weekly posts.

      I woke up at 3:30 today knowing I would have to write this post, and without an idea already in hand I was stressing. I showed up to work, opened the store, and started jotting down ideas between customer transactions. But nothing seemed to pique my own interest, I was coming up short. That is, until I was ringing up a customer for a newspaper. It was the Detroit Free Press, and on the front page was an article that did pique my interest. It said "Former U.P. resident helps detect colliding black holes in space"

    It was like a sign from the cosmos itself! Well, maybe not, more so it was a happy coincidence. But when you're grasping for straws and the universe drops you an answer to your problem first thing in the morning, you graciously accept it without question. And here we are.


     Alexander Nitz is a former resident of Houghton in the U.P. and now is a physicist at the Albert Einstein Institue in Hannover, Germany. He is part of a team who is providing insight into the collision and merging of two black holes deep in outter space. How are they able to provide such insight? Through the use of the Laser Interferometer Gravitation-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Basically, this observatory utilizes an instrument in which the interference of two beams of light (lasers) interact in such a way to make precise measurements. LIGO searches for distortions in space-time that would indicate the passage of gravitational waves. Gravitational waves occurring in space-time were predicted to exist by Einstein in his General Theory of Relativity in 1916.

     Gravitation Waves are like ripples in the fabric of space-time caused by some of the most extreme and powerful events that have occured in the universe, such as the collision of two black holes. While the waves were predicted by Einstein in 1916, they were first observed September 2016 by LIGO observatories.

     Nitz says "Like using a telescope is seeing with your eyes, LIGO allows us to hear the universe."

      Nitz had developed a software package used for LIGO as part of his doctoral work at Syracuse University. The work he did for LIGO will help us improve our understanding of gravitational waves, creation of stars and galaxies, and the universe itself.

     And his work has already gotten results. From the data, Nitz and his team were able to determine that the if the energy produced by the collision of the black holes were visible light instead of gravitational waves (not possible due to the gravitational pull of the blackholes basically sucking visible light in), the collision would have been brighter than all the stars in the observable universe combined! Stellar explosions called gamma-ray bursts can also outshine the stars briefly, but the explosive black-hole merger sets a mind-bending record. It is the most powerful explosion humans have ever detected besides the big bang. Pretty impressive stuff indeed.

     Nitz claims this is the dawn of a new type of astronomy, which up until now, has mainly been focused on studying the spectrum of visible light and radio waves of the cosmos.

     So far, only a haldful of waves have been detected. But the work here is promising! For only a small amount of observations, the fact that we are able to detect the violent collison of two black holes 1.3 billion years ago is a pretty fair place to start, in my opinion.

      I find all of this pretty exciting. Not only am I excited about the idea of the new field of study within the field of astronomy, but also the Michigan representation! It makes me feel quite a bit of pride to see that someone from our own state has gotten recognition for the incredible work he has done and his contribution to the sciences. It is people like him, who help average people like you and I gain appreciation not only for the stars and galaxies, but also for the hard work, creativity, and skill of others like Nitz!