I've always loved exploring the connections between ocean and space science, but space whales? Apparently, they're an actual "thing." Try Googling it, and see for yourself. I know, because I did. Here's the whole sordid tale.
This morning, scientists with the National Science Foundation's LIGO program announced they'd made the discovery of the century: They'd detected gravitational waves first theorized by Albert Einstein a century ago. Every major news outlet has already put out an explanation, so I won't repeat. Sufficeth to say, the discovery,decades in the making, all but guarantees someone a Nobel Prize (the question is, which three out of the thousand-plus people involved), and opens up whole new fields of studywithin astrophysics.
But, when I first heard the "chirp" of the gravitational wave created by the collision of two massive black holes some 1.3 billion years ago, my reaction seemed a bit out of step with the momentous occasion. All I could think was: "It sounds like a right whale up-call!"
To be fair, the actual sound recorded by LIGO was a faint thump, lasting just 0.2 seconds. But, at the press conference, LIGO spokesperson Gabriela González played a slightly modified version - the chirp heard 'round the world:
For comparison, here's the up-call made by North Atlantic right whales:
North Atlantic right whales have an extensive vocabulary (not that we understand most of it). Up-calls are frequently-used vocalizations that experts think act as a sort of "Hello!" or "Can you hear me now?" Unfortunately, whales' attempts at conversation are increasingly drowned out by the rising noise of shipping.
As for gravitational waves, it's hoped that this is just the first of many chirps and warbles we'll hear. But it's taken decades to get to build instruments sensitive enough to hear them.
So, maybe it's appropriate that the first gravitational wave we've recorded sounds like an up-call from the universe. Or, more likely, it's just pure happenstance. Either way, contemplating the similarities between whale vocalizations and the sound of black holes colliding put me in mind of the incomparable Douglas Adams. I'll let him have the last word.
“This must be Thursday,' said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer. 'I never could get the hang of Thursdays.'”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy