24/7 Space News
PHYSICS NEWS
BlackGEM telescopes begin hunt for gravitational-wave sources at La Silla
The BlackGEM array, consisting of three new telescopes located at ESO's La Silla Observatory, has begun operations. This photograph shows the three open domes of the BlackGEM telescopes under a stunning night sky a La Silla. Other telescopes at the observatory are visible in the background.
ADVERTISEMENT
     
BlackGEM telescopes begin hunt for gravitational-wave sources at La Silla
by Staff Writers
Munich, Germany (SPX) May 17, 2023

The BlackGEM array, consisting of three new telescopes located at ESO's La Silla Observatory, has begun operations. The telescopes will scan the southern sky to hunt down the cosmic events that produce gravitational waves, such as the mergers of neutron stars and black holes.

Some cataclysmic events in the Universe, such as the collision of black holes or neutron stars, create gravitational waves, ripples in the structure of time and space. Observatories like the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo Interferometer are designed to detect these ripples. But they cannot pinpoint their origin very accurately nor see the fleeting light that results from the collisions between neutron stars and black holes. BlackGEM is dedicated to quickly scanning large areas of the sky to precisely hunt down gravitational-wave sources using visible light.

"With BlackGEM we aim to scale up the study of cosmic events with both gravitational waves and visible light," says Paul Groot of Radboud University in the Netherlands, the project's Principal Investigator. "The combination of the two tells us much more about these events than just one or the other."

By detecting both gravitational waves and their visible counterparts, astronomers can confirm the nature of gravitational-wave sources and determine their precise locations. Using visible light also allows for detailed observations of the processes that occur in these mergers, such as the formation of heavy elements like gold and platinum.

To date, however, only one visible counterpart to a gravitational-wave source has ever been detected. Furthermore, even the most advanced gravitational-wave detectors such as LIGO or Virgo cannot precisely identify their sources; at best, they can narrow the location of a source down to an area of approximately 400 full moons in the sky. BlackGEM will efficiently scan such large regions at high enough resolution to consistently locate gravitational-wave sources using visible light.

BlackGEM's three constituent telescopes were built by a consortium of universities: Radboud University, the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy, and KU Leuven in Belgium. The telescopes are each 65 centimetres in diameter and can investigate different areas of the sky simultaneously; the collaboration eventually aims to expand the array to 15 telescopes, improving its scanning coverage even more. BlackGEM is hosted at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile, making it the first array of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

"Despite the modest 65-centimetre primary mirror, we go as deep as some projects with much bigger mirrors, because we take full advantage of the excellent observing conditions at La Silla," says Groot.

Once BlackGEM precisely identifies a source of gravitational waves, larger telescopes such as ESO's Very Large Telescope or the future ESO Extremely Large Telescope can carry out detailed follow-up observations, which will help to shed light on some of the most extreme events in the cosmos.

In addition to its search for the optical counterparts to gravitational waves, BlackGEM will also perform surveys of the southern sky. Its operations are fully automated, meaning the array can quickly find and observe 'transient' astronomical events, which appear suddenly and quickly fade out of view. This will give astronomers deeper insight into short-lived astronomical phenomena such as supernovae, the huge explosions that mark the end of a massive star's life.

"Thanks to BlackGEM, La Silla now has the potential to become a major contributor to transient research," says Ivo Saviane, site manager at ESO's La Silla Observatory. "We expect to see many outstanding results contributed by this project, which will expand the reach of the site for both the scientific community and the public at large."

Related Links
BlackGEM
The Physics of Time and Space

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
PHYSICS NEWS
Defying gravity
Warsaw, Poland (SPX) Apr 21, 2023
Surely it has ever happened to you to shake an open bag of mixed nuts. Have you noticed that after such a procedure, the largest nuts in the mixture - Brazil nuts - float to the top? The phenomenon of large objects rising to the surface of a mixture of small objects, bearing the professional name of granular convection, is popularly referred to "the Brazil nut effect" and occurs commonly in nature. It can also be observed by shaking, for example, a bucket of sand and pebbles. This unusual effect c ... read more

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
PHYSICS NEWS
Cosmonauts wrap up 5-hour ISS spacewalk

NASA harnesses US Navy spinning device to simulate spaceflight

Ax-2 crew carrying personal, cultural mementoes on launch to ISS

Research announcement for technology development leveraging ISS is open for concepts

PHYSICS NEWS
Virgin Orbit receives more than 30 indications of interest under court approved bid procedures

For 191st time, SpaceX booster successfully returns after launch

Momentus signs launch package with SpaceX

Gilmour Space Technologies forges head as PM opens new rockets factory

PHYSICS NEWS
Remotely waiting in Gale: Sols 3832-3833

Perseverance captures view of Mars' Belva Crater

Martian crust like heavy armour

What's so special about large grains on Mars

PHYSICS NEWS
China's next space exploration to feature new faces

"Tianzhou Express" is online again, with five highlights

Tianzhou 6 docks with Tiangong space station

China's cargo craft Tianzhou 6 ready for launch

PHYSICS NEWS
Arlula secures $2.2 million in seed funding to enable global space data access

UK leads Europe in race for space investment, new report finds

Sidus Space contracts with Leaf Space for additional ground station coverage

UAE partnerships boost commercial space opportunities

PHYSICS NEWS
Momentus deploys Qosmosys satellite and on-orbit support of Caltech hosted payload

GPR announces Series A funding on back of customer traction

Origami heat shield: reusable for reentries

Safeguarding space infrastructure

PHYSICS NEWS
Astronomers observe the first radiation belt seen outside of our solar system

NASA's Spitzer, TESS find potentially volcano-covered Earth-size world

Researchers uncover how primordial proteins formed on prebiotic earth

Bacteria survive on radioactive elements

PHYSICS NEWS
Pioneer 11, launched 50 years ago, helped solve mysteries of the universe

NASA's Juno mission closing in on Io

NASA: Up to 4 of Uranus' moons could have water

New video series captures team working on NASA's Europa Clipper

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters


ADVERTISEMENT



The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2023 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.