Black holes are the husks of massive stars with gravity so strong that not even light can escape from them. When they collide, they release energy in a form called gravitational waves. The collisions, which are entirely invisible to the naked eye and do not register on the electromagnetic spectrum, can be detected only by observing gravitational waves. In a recently released paper , gravitational wave astronomers detailed 11 of these collisions -- four of which had never been announced before -- since the detectors started operating in 2015. While the announcement of a super-massive black hole makes for a good headline, this recent paper has a less-breathtaking but more scientifically meaningful impact.

Source: CNN December 08, 2018 22:18 UTC