To make the discovery scientists had to 'build a detector that was roughly the size of the galaxy.'
. Two relatively small black holes merged into a bigger black hole, sending gravitational waves — a quick "chirp" — that were picked up by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory or LIGO.
To make their discovery, the team used 67 pulsars, rapidly spinning neutron stars, which send out radio waves constantly and at a steady, predictable clip, kind of like a lighthouse. These gravitational ripples also appear to fluctuate, oscillating in a cycle that may take years or decades.
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