RIDING THE GRAV WAVES

In about five years or so, India will host a sophisticated observatory that will help detect gravitational waves, which will provide astrophysicists a peep into the early universe, study impact of behaviour of black holes and neutron stars, besides helping understand the universe better

- NIRAD MUDUR

N Aundha in the Hingoli district of Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, a crucial project, literally of astronomical proportions, is quietly coming up at an estimated cost of Rs 2,600 crore.

It is the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)-India, which once operational, will join a network of five other already operational ground-based gravitational wave observatories in operation globally — the two LIGO detectors in the USA, Virgo in Italy, KAGRA in Japan, and GEO600 in Germany — forming a network considered crucial for pinpointing gravitational wave sources.

The construction of LIGO-India has already begun following the cabinet approval in April 2023, with completion anticipated by 2030, and operations to begin thereafter.