Astronomers across the world announced on Thursday that they have found the first evidence of a long-theorised form of gravitational waves that create a “background hum” rumbling throughout the universe.
The breakthrough — made by hundreds of scientists using radio telescopes in North America, Europe, China, India and Australia after years of work — was hailed as a major milestone that opens a new window into the universe.
First predicted by Albert Einstein more than a century ago, gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of the universe that travel through everything at the speed of light almost entirely unimpeded.