A historic milestone for astrophysics

news-gravitational-waves

Gravitational waves sweep through the universe.

Credit: AIP/J. Fohlmeister
Feb. 12, 2016 //

With the first successful measurement of gravitational waves by the LIGO observatory in the USA, a scientific sensation was confirmed on February 11 that brings astrophysics into a new era. A conversation of the Leibniz Association about this event with Matthias Steinmetz, Scientific Director of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and President of the Astronomical Society.

This text is only available in German.

news-gravitational-waves

Gravitational waves sweep through the universe.

Credit: AIP/J. Fohlmeister
Feb. 12, 2016 //

With the first successful measurement of gravitational waves by the LIGO observatory in the USA, a scientific sensation was confirmed on February 11 that brings astrophysics into a new era. A conversation of the Leibniz Association about this event with Matthias Steinmetz, Scientific Director of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and President of the Astronomical Society.

This text is only available in German.

The key areas of research at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) are cosmic magnetic fields and extragalactic astrophysics. A considerable part of the institute's efforts aims at the development of research technology in the fields of spectroscopy, robotic telescopes, and E-science. The AIP is the successor of the Berlin Observatory founded in 1700 and of the Astrophysical Observatory of Potsdam founded in 1874. The latter was the world's first observatory to emphasize explicitly the research area of astrophysics. The AIP has been a member of the Leibniz Association since 1992.
Last update: 17. August 2022