Recent Advances in Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Gravitational waves are ripples that carry energy across the universe. They were predicted to exist by Albert Einstein in 1916 as a consequence of his General Theory of Relativity. Although there is strong circumstantial evidence for their existence, gravitational waves have not been directly detected before. This is because they are minuscule - a million times smaller than an atom. Particularly exciting are "primordial" gravitational waves, which were generated in the first moments of the universe's birth. These carry vital information about how the universe began. Even after reading all these stories, one still wants to know more about how the findings might help cosmologists tackle the remaining mysteries about the origin of the universe. Several scientists quoted in many stories of Gravitational waves touched on it, noting that the detection of gravitational waves will not just back up the idea of inflation but answer specific questions about how it happened and when. All these things can be studied and answered only when one will be able to have an assessment on the updated status of Gravitational waves detection.