The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime produced by accelerating massive bodies to Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
In general relativity, gravity manifests itself as massive objects bending the structure of spacetime. In addition, something else happens if the gravitational field varies, for example when two massive objects orbit each other.
The motion of massive bodies through spacetime perturbs its very fabric, imprinting a signal that travels away as a disturbance to the structure of spacetime itself: gravitational waves. The animation visualises the effect of these oscillations, which consist of sequential stretches and compressions of spacetime, rhythmically increasing and reducing the distance between particles as a wave propagates through the surroundings.
Gravitational waves were directly detected for the first time by the advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in 2015, and the discovery was announced on 11 February 2016.