The second ever detection of deep-space gravitational waves is expected to revolutionize the study of astrophysics, while further research would unlock many more secrets of the universe, scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) said on Thursday.
Gravitational waves were witnessed by scientists for just the second time this week, after a collision between two massive black holes caused ripples throughout the galaxy.
The black holes were observed by the two Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors in the United States, and Australian-based LIGO researcher, Professor Susan Scott from the ANU said as gravitational wave research gets better, the more scientists will be able to discover about the origins of the universe.
"This has cemented the age of gravitational wave astronomy," Scott said in a statement released on Thursday.
"This shows data is going to flow, that will enable us to map a lot more of the Universe than we've seen before."
Dr Rob Ward, fellow LIGO researcher at the ANU, agreed that ongoing discoveries of gravitational waves would become an integral part of further astronomic research.
"Gravitational wave astronomy is going to revolutionize our understanding of the Universe," Ward said.
The team working with the LIGO detectors were able to glimpse the black holes orbiting each other 27 times in their last second of existence, before they coalesced, sending gravitational waves in all directions throughout the galaxy.
The ANU was at the forefront of research when gravitational waves were first discovered in February, confirming Albert Einstein's long-held theory of relativity.
The ANU said the "violent" collision occurred around 1.4 billion years ago in a distant galaxy, and -- while they made their way to Earth -- the waves "died down so much" they registered as just a tiny fraction of the width of a proton on the LIGO detectors.
