Seldom Bucket
Well-Known Member
Gravitational-wave astronomy is very different from that of electromagnetic light. While gravitational waves are faint and difficult to detect, they also pass through matter with little effect. In essence, the material universe is transparent to gravitational waves. This makes gravitational wave astronomy a powerful tool when studying the universe. But it’s still in the early stages, and there is much to learn about how gravitational waves behave.
Gravitational Lenses. Source: Caltech
Take, for example, gravitational lensing. It occurs when light from a distant object such as a quasar is deflected slightly as it passes near a galaxy or other massive object. The gravitational curvature created by the galaxy’s mass acts as a lens, which can focus the quasar light and produce multiple quasar images. This effect occurs because light travels through space and time, so when spacetime is warped, so is the path of light.
It Could be Possible to see Gravitational Wave Lenses
Can waves of gravity be lensed by gravity? A recent study looks for lensed gravitational waves.
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