(The Gist of Science Reporter) Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) India

[SEPTEMBER-2019]

LIGO is a world-leading observatory designed to detect gravitational waves from the most violent events in the Universe. LIGO-India, an ongoing enterprise to set up a new gravitational wave detector on Indian soil, is a mega-science collaborative project between
the LIGO laboratory in the USA, along with its international partners.
Australia, Germany and the UK and three lead institutions of India: Institute of Plasma Research OPR) Gandhinagar, Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAAJ, Pune and Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore.
This project is jointly supported and funded by the DAE and DST with $300 million for the $950 million project.
LIGO India will serve as one of the detectors to detect the gravitational waves, an essential element of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity.
This opened a completely new window with which scientists are starting to probe hitherto unexplored phenomena such as the formation of black holes, exploding neutron stars, witnessing the birth of our Universe and so on.
India will provide the site, vacuum system and other infrastructure required to house and operate the interferometer, manpower, materials and supplies for installation, commissioning and operations