I’ve been reading more about Nergis Mavalvala’s work with LIGO and the thing that stands out is that the breakthrough wasn’t simply detecting gravitational waves, but gaining information about the universe through something other than electromagnetic radiation
That seems particularly important for black holes and other systems that can be difficult or impossible to study with light alone
How much do you think gravitational-wave astronomy has actually changed our understanding of astrophysical objects so far, versus simply giving us another way to observe them?
I noticed Mavalvala is also giving a lecture in Karachi, Pakistan next week, which is what originally sent me down this particular rabbit hole