(Carl Knox/OzGrav/Swinburne University Australia via AP)
This illustration provided by Carl Knox depicts a black hole, center, swallowing a neutron star, upper left. The blue lines are gravitational waves, ripples in time and space, which is how astronomers detected the merger, and orange and red areas indicate parts of the neutron star being stripped away. In a report released on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, astronomers say they have witnessed a black hole swallowing a neutron star, the most dense object in the universe, all in a split-second gulp.
HANFORD, Wash. Stargazers have observed space above us for centuries, but never before have scientists confirmed a collision between a black hole and a neutron star. That changed recently when the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Hanford and its twin observatory in Livingston, Louisiana detected two of these instances in January 2020.