Ten years of gravitational-wave astronomy and the clearest signal yet – September 10, 2025

Artist’s impression of a newly-formed black hole ringing down after a binary black hole merger while emitting gravitational waves. Maggie Chiang for the Simons Foundation
The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics celebrate the anniversary and present new, exciting results
To the point:
- Gravitational waves: On 14 September 2015, the first detection of gravitational waves from a binary black hole coalescence, GW150914, marked a major milestone in astronomy and the beginning of a new era of cosmic observation.
- Technological and theoretical advances: The outstanding improvements of the detectors, waveform models and analysis methods have enabled unprecedented observations in the last decade: about 300 coalescences of black holes and neutron stars have been detected.
- New discovery: A binary black hole coalescence announced today (GW250114) is the clearest signal to date. It allowed scientists to conduct some of the most stringent tests of general relativity, identify or constrain at least three gravitational-wave tones emitted during the ringdown, which occurs shortly after the merger, and confirm Hawking’s black hole area theorem.
- Multi-messenger astronomy: The first gravitational-wave detection of a neutron star coalescence in 2017 (GW170817) demonstrated the ability to observe cosmic events through both gravitational and electromagnetic waves.
- Ongoing innovative research: AEI researchers continue to develop ever more accurate waveform models, fast and efficient analysis methods, and advanced detector technologies in preparation for upcoming LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing runs and next-generation detectors that promise deeper insights into cosmic events.