Space Fun Fact of the Day:

So you might be seeing the terms "LIGO" and "Black Hole" being thrown around today, and may be wondering what the big deal is. Well, we basically were able to detect two HUGE Black Holes colliding somewhere very far away in our universe. (1/5) #scicomm

What is @LIGO? It stands for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory. It aims to provide a new way of detecting events in our universe through something called interferometry, which uses interference to detect very very tiny changes. (2/5)

LIGO is able to detect these things called gravitational waves that are caused by massive objects moving super fast, so for example two merging black holes. These objects create these ripples in the fabric of space, and it's great because they're a better way of... (3/5)

...detecting things like black holes. They don't produce any light, so we can't just use regular measures of detecting.

LIGO's most recent detection, #GW190521, was of two Black Holes with a total mass 150 times the mass of our sun, the heaviest detected so far! (4/5)

Definitely check out @LIGO's account for more specific information, since this discovery is super cool! (5/5)

Question: Would you ever want to witness two black holes colliding?

I should also mention that this detection was a collaboration between both LIGO and @ego_virgo!