AIGO, GEO600, LIGO, TAMA and Virgo participate
in ESO's
"Around the World in 80 Telescopes"
"Around the World in 80 Telescopes" is a live 24-hour webcast organized by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) as part of "100 hours of Astronomy" celebrations to mark the International Year of Astronomy 2009. This unique webcast will visit, by night and by day, some of the most advanced astronomical observatories around the globe - including the worldwide network of gravitational wave observatories and AIGO the Australian prototype gravitational wave detector. With these giant laser interferometers, researchers monitor the universe in the unique spectrum of gravitational waves - for the first time, they are "listening" to the universe and will discover unknown and distant regions. By observing gravitational waves - tiny ripples in space-time - we will gain unique insights into black holes,
neutron stars and the Big Bang.
During the webcast on-site researchers at each gravitational wave observatory will explain how they are listening to the universe and introduce you to the very sophisticated technology that is needed to measure tiny gravitational wave signals: vacuum tubes, high powered lasers, mirror suspensions,
absorption free optics, laser stabilization, noise reduction etc.