Gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger observed by three detectors in a landmark collaboration

The three-detector observation was made on August 14, 2017 at 10:30:43 UTC. The two Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington, and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Virgo detector, located near Pisa, Italy, detected a transient gravitational-wave signal produced by the collision of two stellar mass black holes:

Gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger observed by LIGO and Virgo 

 

A paper about the event, known as GW170814, has been accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters and this article features data from all three of the gravitational wave detectors involved:

Explanatory Article by ScienceAlert:

IT'S OFFICIAL: Gravitational Waves Were Just Detected With The Greatest Precision Ever

Update on Gravitational Wave Science 

from the LIGO-Virgo Scientific Collaborations

The three observatories involved:

The two LIGO interferometers are located in fairly isolated areas of Washington (LIGO Hanford) and Louisiana (LIGO Livingston), and separated by 3,002 km (1,865 miles).

VIRGO is a giant laser interferometer operated in Cascina, near Pisa on the site of the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), by an international collaboration of scientists from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Hungary.

LIGO Livingston 

 in Louisiana

LIGO Handford

 in Washington state

 

 Virgo

near Pisa, Italy

 How does the VIRGO laser interferometer work?  

Here is an explanatory video:

Gravitational Waves: A New Era of Astronomy Begins