Artist’s impression of a neutron star and black hole merging. Image: Carl Knox, OzGrav/Swinburne University
Artist's impression of a neutron star and black hole merging. Image: Carl Knox, OzGrav/Swinburne University - Scientists have for the first time detected black holes eating neutron stars, "like Pac Man", in a discovery documenting the collision of the two most extreme and enigmatic objects in the Universe. The collisions occurred one billion years ago. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US and the Virgo gravitational-wave observatory in Italy have captured the gravitational waves from the death spiral and merger of a neutron star with a black hole, not once but twice. The findings are published today. The researchers say their observations will help unlock some of the most complex mysteries of the Universe, including the building blocks of matter and the workings of space and time. More than 1,000 scientists were involved with the world-first detections, with many from Australia, including The Australian National University (ANU), leading the way.
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