Sharing our science

The first discovery of gravitational waves (GWs) in 2015 and the first discovery of a multi-messenger signal including GWs has completely transformed the fields of physics and astronomy, and our knowledge of the Universe.

We believe what we learn about the cosmos belong to everyone, and we’re passionate about sharing what we find with the community. Members of the UBC GWs group have shared their research with classrooms and student programs at every level, as well as with public lectures. In Vancouver, we have worked with the TRIUMF Saturday Morning Lectures program and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Vancouver Centre. Get in touch if you’d like to hear about gravitational waves!

 

Get involved

For aspiring researchers and those who would like to contribute to the gravitational -wave discovery effort: Help LIGO and Virgo scientists discover more gravitational waves by classifying noise sources with GravitySpy. This Zooniverse project crowd-sources critical LIGO glitch classifications and helps researchers uncover the noise sources that are interfering with our ability to detect a wider range of astrophysical gravitational wave signals. Gravity Spy users that have helped us solve noise mysteries have been featured in the public LIGO electronic logbooks.

Are you a teacher or student? Use real LIGO and Virgo data to teach physics, programming, and data analysis through the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center (GWOSC). In addition to real gravitational wave detector data, you’ll find fully open web courses, including video lectures and python notebooks with examples for novices and challenges for developing experts.

 

Learn more

Discover the Advanced LIGO detectors and a new age of gravitational wave astronomy with the Advanced LIGO Documentary Project, directed by Les Guthman.

You can also find an extensive video library of science explanation videos, science documentaries, lectures, podcasts, panels, public talks, and press conferences on the LIGO-Virgo youtube channel.

Keep in touch

You can get the latest news from LIGO and Virgo on Twitter and other social media: