
Light and gravitational waves don’t arrive simultaneously because:
- Relativity predicts that light and gravitational waves from the same event should travel through space the same way.
- Other theories of gravity predict that the two should arrive at Earth at markedly different times.
- Gravitational waves change the wavelength of light.
- Light’s speed is not a constant when gravitational waves exist.
In one event, light arrived nearly 2 seconds after the gravitational wave signal ceased.
Gravitational waves are transverse waves, meaning they stretch and squeeze in 2 perpendicular directions. They are ripples in space-time.
This is why, even though light and gravity both travel exactly at the speed of light in a vacuum, the light we saw didn’t arrive until nearly 2 seconds after the gravitational wave signal ceased. As we collect and observe more of these events, we’ll be able to confirm and refine this picture once and for all
Gravity and light travel at the same speed. The speed of light is a universal physical constant that’s equal to 299,792,458 meters per second. The speed of gravity is between 2.55 × 108 m/s and 3.81 × 108 m/s.
The theory of special relativity predicts that nothing can move faster than the speed of light. The laws of physics dictate that gravitational waves and photons must move at the same speed, which is the speed of light
Black holes have an escape velocity that exceeds the speed of light. The Schwarzschild radius is the radius at which a mass has an escape velocity equal to the speed of light. Any object smaller than its Schwarzschild radius is a black hole.
Black holes have such a strong gravitational pull that they can whip stars around faster than 16 million miles per hour. Many black holes spin at more than 90% the speed of light. One black hole at the heart of galaxy NGC 1365 is turning at 84% the speed of light
In 2017, a kilonova sent light and gravitational waves across the Universe. Here on Earth, there was a 1.7 second signal arrival delay. Why
Either ejected material or reactions in the neutron star’s interior is required to produce these elements, and hence, the light associated with a kilonova explosion. That light is only produced after the gravitational wave signal has ended, and may further be delayed by having to pass through the circumstellar material. This is why, even though light and gravity both travel exactly at the speed of light in a vacuum, the light we saw didn’t arrive until nearly 2 seconds after the gravitational wave signal ceased. As we collect and observe more of these events, we’ll be able to confirm and refine this picture once and for all!
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