Two black holes, or one black hole and one neutron star, can be sucked into each other to create one of the most powerful and energetic events known in the universe.
Albert Einstein first predicted these events, known as gravitational waves. He suggested that the energy released could cause disruptions in the space-time continuum.
Scientists have been finding more stars ever since the discovery of the first one in 2015. This is thanks to an international team and equipment that has created a paradigm in our search to understand how stars die and live in our universe.
In the latest finding, according to a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper spotted by ScienceAlert, the team spotted a whopping 35 of these events between November 2019 and March 2020.
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The team was able track down a surprising number of them using the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, (LIGO), which is the largest gravitational wave observatory in the world. It actually consists of two observatories located over 1,800 miles apart.
"These discoveries represent a tenfold rise in the number gravitational waves detected LIGO and Virgo depuis they started observing," stated Susan Scott, an Australian National University astronomy professor and coauthor of the paper in a statement.
She added, "We have detected 35 events." That's huge! We made three observations in contrast to that in our initial observing run, which lasted for four months in 2015-16.
Many of these 32 are believed to be the result black holes merging and creating a new hole. These supermassive black hole can grow into massive structures with a mass over 100 times that of the Sun.
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However, some are most likely due to a neutron Star, which is the remains of a star colliding with an black hole.
Madeline Wade, assistant professor of Kenyon College and co-author of this statement, stated that the detectors' excellent sensitivities have enabled us to observe many more exciting gravitational waves events, including the first ever confirmed neutron star-blackhole binary detection.
Although we have confirmed the existence of neutron stars, their origins are still unknown. We don't know exactly how big or small they can grow, how they form, or what their actual composition is.
The new discoveries are a significant moment for all astronomers.
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Scott said, "This is a new era in gravitational wave detections. The growing population of discoveries is providing so much information about life and death stars throughout the Universe."
READ MORE: Astronomers detect a 'Tsunami’ of Gravitational Waves. Here's where they're coming from
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