Okuzeka
Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Cosmology

Gravitational wave

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In astronomy & space, gravitational wave means: A ripple in space-time caused by massive objects accelerating, such as two black holes spiralling into each other. Einstein predicted them in 1916.

In Turkish: kütleçekim dalgası, kütleçekimsel dalga

How it is used

Usually plural. The first direct detection was made in 2015 by the LIGO observatory and won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics. Scientists now speak of 'gravitational-wave astronomy' and of 'detections' or 'events'.

Example sentences

  1. The gravitational waves came from two black holes that merged 1.3 billion years ago.

  2. To catch a gravitational wave, detectors must measure changes far smaller than an atom.

Common collocations

  • detect gravitational waves
  • gravitational-wave detector
  • gravitational-wave event
  • gravitational-wave astronomy
  • black holeA region of space where matter is packed so tightly that gravity stops anything, even light, from escaping. Many form when very massive stars collapse.
  • neutron starThe extremely dense core left after a massive star explodes as a supernova. It packs more mass than the Sun into a ball only about 20 kilometres across.
  • gravityThe force that pulls any two objects with mass towards each other. It keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun and keeps our feet on the ground.
  • pulsarA rapidly spinning neutron star that sends out beams of radio waves or other radiation, which we see from Earth as very regular pulses, like the beam of a lighthouse.

More terms: Cosmology

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: