This visualization shows the coalescence of two orbiting neutron stars. The left panel contains a visualization of the matter of the neutron stars. The different colored layers are different densities which have been made transparent to show more structure. The right panel shows a measure of how space and time are distorted near the collisions. The spiral wave distortions at the end of the merger propagate to Earth and are measured as gravitational waves.

Video by Georgia Tech's Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, based on a detection made by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, Virgo and worldwide scientists on August 17, 2017.

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