Listening to the Universe

Most of what we know about the universe is carried to us on light waves. But many things are happening that don’t leave clues on the electromagnetic spectrum. That’s where LIGO or the the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory comes in. Nergis Mavalvala has been working for decades to improve and refine the giant Earth-based observatory in the hopes of catching a gravitational wave and turning on a new sense with which to observe the universe.

Learn more: http://specialprojects.sciencemag.org/xxfiles/