Science Ticker Cosmology

First images of gravity waves, evidence of cosmic inflation reported

Data from the BICEP2 telescope (shown) have provided the first images of gravitational waves and the first direct evidence of cosmic inflation, scientists say.

Peter Rejcek

By Ashley Yeager

The first images of gravitational waves were released March 17.

Gravitational waves have been described as the “first tremors of the Big Bang,” and were imaged with the BICEP2 telescope in Antarctica. The data provide evidence for cosmic inflation, the theory that in the first moments of the universe’s existence, it expanded exponentially. 

More details on the announcement will be posted shortly.

About Ashley Yeager

Ashley Yeager is the associate news editor at Science News. She has worked at The Scientist, the Simons Foundation, Duke University and the W.M. Keck Observatory, and was the web producer for Science News from 2013 to 2015. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT.

More Stories from Science News on Cosmology

  1. Cosmology

    The largest 3-D map of the universe reveals hints of dark energy’s secrets

    By Emily Conover
  2. Space

    Did the James Webb telescope ‘break the universe’? Maybe not

    By Adam Mann
  3. Cosmology

    New JWST images suggest our understanding of the cosmos is flawed

    By James R. Riordon
  4. Astronomy

    JWST’s hunt for distant galaxies keeps turning up surprises

    By Lisa Grossman
  5. Space

    The James Webb telescope may have spotted stars powered by dark matter

    By Skyler Ware
  6. Physics

    Centuries on, Newton’s gravitational constant still can’t be pinned down

    By James R. Riordon
  7. Cosmology

    Astronomers spotted shock waves shaking the web of the universe for the first time

    By Elise Cutts
  8. Cosmology

    Scientists mapped dark matter around galaxies in the early universe

    By Emily Conover