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Professor Duncan Brown was interviewed by the Associated Press for a story on LIGO’s historic discovery of gravitational waves from the collision of binary neutron stars. Measurements of the light and other energy emanating from the event have helped scientists explain how planet-killing gamma ray bursts are born, how fast the universe is expanding, and where heavy elements like platinum and gold come from. “This is getting everything you wish for,” said Brown. “This is our fantasy observation.” Read the full article at apnews.com.

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In an article in the LA Times, Professor Duncan Brown discussed the future of multi-messenger astronomy following the recent announcement of the confirmed observation of a neutron star collision by the LIGO-Virgo network and more traditional telescopes. “This is the beginning,” said Brown. “This is the beginning of bringing the entire human toolkit of observations, of gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves, to bear on understanding our universe and where we live.” Read more at LATimes.com.

In a recent feature for SUNews, Peter Saulson, Martin A. Pomerantz ’37 Professor of Physics, discussed the importance of GW170817 in cementing gravitational waves as a new tool for exploring the universe. “Whether we’re contributing observations of something that only gravitational wave detectors can see, or offering new understandings of phenomena that have puzzled astronomers for decades, the game of astronomy will never be the same without us,” said Saulson. Read more at news.syr.edu.

Stefan Ballmer, associate professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, gave an interview with SUNews. Stefan discussed his work, LIGO’s groundbreaking discovery of gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars, and what it means for the future study of the universe. Read more at news.syr.edu.

Professors Stefan Ballmer and Duncan Brown, who co-lead the Syracuse University Gravitational Wave Group along with Peter Saulson, were quoted in a Forbes article highlighting the recent discovery of neutron star collisions as the source for gold, platinum, and other heavy metals in the universe. While theorized by scientists for decades, this was recently proven when LIGO, Virgo, and a network of more traditional telescopes witnessed the inspiral and crash of a binary neutron star system, and the resulting expulsion and decay of neutron-rich material.

“When you watch that radioactive decay, what you’re basically watching is space alchemy. It’s the universe creating gold and platinum,” said Brown.

“If you’re wondering how much the gold we saw being made is worth? About $10 octillion— $10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000—at today’s prices,” said Ballmer.

Read more at forbes.com.

Peter Saulson, Martin A. Pomerantz ’37 Professor of Physics, was quoted in an NPR feature on the detection of gravitational waves from binary neutron stars for the network’s “All Things Considered” program, and for web publication. “It’s so beautiful. It’s so beautiful it makes me want to cry. It’s the fulfillment of dozens, hundreds, thousands of people’s efforts, but it’s also the fulfillment of an idea suddenly becoming real,” says Saulson. Read more at NPR.org.

This story was picked up nationally on NPR affiliates in New York City, Minnesota, Florida, California, New Hampshire, Boston, and Austin.

LIGO’s recent detection of gravitational waves from the collision of two neutron stars–the first time a cosmic event has been seen with both gravitational waves and with the full electromagnetic spectrum–was featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal. Professor Duncan Brown was quoted. Read more at wsj.com.

Duncan Brown, Charles Brightman Endowed Professor of Physics, was featured in an article for PBS Newshour on the detection of gravitational waves and other energy emissions from a pair of colliding neutron stars. Brown spoke about the scientific importance of the discovery, and the surprising quickness with which it was confirmed. “Even when I say it now, I find it kind of astounding,” said Brown. “I thought it would take us days of painstaking, hard work to go through the data. Instead, we did it in about 45 minutes from getting the observations from the telescope.” Read more at www.mobprod.com.

Professor Peter Saulson was interviewed by Newsweek regarding LIGO’s detection of gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars. “The signals that were picked up were of a kind that we’d been hoping to find since the very early days of the project,” says Saulson, who co-leads the Syracuse University Gravitational Waves group and has been involved in LIGO research since 1981. He adds that the signal produced by a neutron star merger is both strong and distinctive. “When we see it, we will know that we’ve seen it.” And now it’s confirmed–LIGO has seen it. Read more at www.newsweek.com.

Professor Duncan Brown was interviewed by Business Insider for an article on the recent discovery that gold, platinum, and other heavy elements are formed in collisions of neutron stars. While long theorized by scientists, this was recently proven when LIGO, Virgo, and a network of telescopes witnessed such a collision for the first time. “This is going to have a bigger impact on science and human understanding, in many ways, than the first discovery of gravitational waves,” Brown said. “We’re going to be puzzling over the observations we’ve made with gravitational waves and with light for years to come.” Read more at businessinsider.com.