Gravitational waves, Einstein’s ripples in spacetime, spotted for first time

[1979Shocker]

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/gravitational-waves-einstein-s-ripples-spacetime-spotted-first-time

Long ago, deep in space, two massive black holes—the ultrastrong gravitational fields left behind by gigantic stars that collapsed to infinitesimal points—slowly drew together. The stellar ghosts spiraled ever closer, until, about 1.3 billion years ago, they whirled about each other at half the speed of light and finally merged. The collision sent a shudder through the universe: ripples in the fabric of space and time called gravitational waves. Five months ago, they washed past Earth. And, for the first time, physicists detected the waves, fulfilling a 4-decade quest and opening new eyes on the heavens.

[1979Shocker]

Internet2 Congratulates LIGO Group on Recent Scientific Breakthrough

http://www.internet2.edu/news/detail/10207/

LIGO scientists detect gravitational waves, confirming Einstein’s Theory

Internet2, operator of the nation’s largest and fastest, coast-to-coast research and education infrastructure, today commends The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) for their recent work by a group of physicists who detected gravitational waves. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window into the cosmos.

In 2011, the LIGO Scientific Corporation partnered with Internet2 to solve two major barriers to completing this initiative. The large number of partners involved in this virtual organization created major challenges in identity management. LIGO joined InCommon, Internet2’s trust and identity management infrastructure, to allow its hundreds of scientists to use existing credentials from their home university or research organization. This gave the researchers safe and secure access, and single sign-on convenience, to global collaboration tools and resources.