The Nature synopsis probably sums it up best. On August 18, an astronomer from the University of Texas began the rumor of a significant LIGO detection with an optical counterpart. Another astronomer, this time from the University of Washington tweeted that the initial speculation for the detection was a signal from a pair of merging neutron stars in NGC 4993 - a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Hydra at a distance around 130 MLY.
Public record have since confirmed that many of the world's great public observatories -- HST, Chandra, Fermi, ELT and ALMA have all spent recent time observing this region.
The optical counterpart would be a huge leap forward for gravitational wave astronomy as it would provide a very concrete independent verification of their methodology, help diagnose or constrain future capabilities and even provide an early warning system for observatories operating in the EM wavebands -- not to mention the physical modeling that can be constrained by the observations themselves.
Public record have since confirmed that many of the world's great public observatories -- HST, Chandra, Fermi, ELT and ALMA have all spent recent time observing this region.
The optical counterpart would be a huge leap forward for gravitational wave astronomy as it would provide a very concrete independent verification of their methodology, help diagnose or constrain future capabilities and even provide an early warning system for observatories operating in the EM wavebands -- not to mention the physical modeling that can be constrained by the observations themselves.
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/2ww7LG5
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