Gravitational Wave Astronomy: From LIGO's Discovery to a New Frontier on the Moon
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Science and Technology (Space Technology, Gravitational Waves, LIGO, LIGO-India, LISA, General Theory of Relativity); Government Initiatives in S&T.
Mains:
General Studies Paper 3 (S&T): Awareness in the fields of Space; Achievements of Indians in science & technology; Indigenization of technology and developing new technology. Gravitational wave astronomy and the LIGO-India project are key topics.
Key Highlights from the News
Gravitational Waves are ripples in spacetime caused by large cosmic events (like black hole collisions).
Predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916, these waves were first detected in 2015 by the LIGO observatory.
Earth-based observatories (LIGO, Virgo) can only detect high-frequency waves.
To overcome this limitation, scientists plan to establish a new observatory called Laser Interferometer Lunar Antenna (LILA) on the Moon. 🌗
Advantages on the Moon: Less "seismic noise" from moonquakes compared to Earth; natural vacuum.
This will help study decihertz frequency waves that have been unobservable until now.
India is also building a gravitational wave observatory called LIGO-India in Hingoli, Maharashtra. This will be part of the global LIGO network.
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