On September 14th, we marked the 10th anniversary of the first detection of gravitational waves — GW150914, observed at the LIGO detectors in 2015. This groundbreaking discovery opened a new window onto the Universe, allowing us to observe black holes and neutron stars in ways never before possible. Since then, gravitational-wave science has flourished, with several current and former researchers and students from CENTRA and other Portuguese research groups making key contributions to the field.
To celebrate this milestone, the Portuguese Society for Relativity and Gravitation (SPRG) in collaboration with Ciência Viva organized a series of events across the country, hosted in the Ciência Viva centers of Lisbon, Aveiro, and Porto.
In Lisbon, at the Pavilhão do Conhecimento, current and former members of CENTRA, with the precious support of physics students of the "Núcleo de Física do Instituto Superior Técnico", presented hands-on demonstrations throughout the day. Visitors had the opportunity to explore what gravitational waves are, how they are detected, and what lies ahead for this exciting field.
In the afternoon, Prof. Vítor Cardoso delivered a captivating public lecture, introduced by Prof. Jorge Rocha, President of SPRG. The lecture is freely available online.
The event was a resounding success, with a full-house audience for the lecture and enthusiastic participation throughout the day. Here’s to the next decade of groundbreaking discoveries in gravitational-wave science!
Photo credits: Ciência Viva
