We Could Soon “Hear” the Gravitational Waves of Dying Stars

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We Could Soon “Hear” the Gravitational Waves of Dying Stars

Massive, dying stars — behemoths tens of times the Sun’s mass — should emit gravitational waves that we can hear with LIGO.

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A team of astronomers has uncovered a new possible source of gravitational waves: the cocoon of hot, dense gas that forms within a massive, dying star. This source is within reach of the recently begun observing run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).

Hefty stars with 20 to 40 times the Sun’s mass die in particularly spectacular fashion. First the center gives way, forming a black hole that immediately begins to feed. This process powers two opposite jets that drill their way out of the star. As the jets ram their way through the star’s outer layers, they amass a sheath of hot, dense star-stuff. For several seconds — until the jets break out of the star completely — the cocoon of gas that's wrapped around them creates ripples in spacetime, or gravitational waves.

Read More: Sky & Telescope