These chirps are gravitational waves recorded by LIGO and converted to audible sounds. It is the sound of two black holes colliding a billion light-years away, a fleeting chirp that fulfilled the last prophecy of Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

The faint thump matches the gravitational waves’ frequencies. The louder chirp is a higher frequency better suited to human ears. The sequence is then repeated.

Recording and image courtesy of LIGO.

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The Sound of Two Black Holes Colliding

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