CALLINGTON Community College was visited by a lecturer of Louisiana State University recently for a scientific talk.

Dr Duncan Macleod addressed the students to explain the science behind gravitational wave signals and their detection. This coincided with a press conference from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (of which he is a member) and the Virgo collaboration announcing identification of a second gravitational wave event in the data from Advanced LIGO detectors.

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) is a group of scientists seeking to make direct detection of gravitational waves, use them to explore the fundamental physics of gravity and develop the emerging field of gravitational wave science as a tool of astronomical discovery. Founded in 1997, the LSC is currently made up of more than 1,000 scientists from dozens of institutions and 15 countries worldwide.

On December 26, 2015, at 3.38am UTC, scientists observed gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of spacetime — for the second time.

Students from Years 10 to 13 were privileged to hear about the exciting results from this project, the founders of which are likely to be in the running for a Nobel prize.