Listening practice: The laser ruler that hears space ripple

Imagine that space itself is not a silent, empty stage, but a flexible sheet that can stretch, squeeze, and carry a message. According to LIGO Lab, Albert Einstein predicted gravitational waves in nineteen sixteen. They are ripples in space-time, produced when very massive objects accelerate. The strongest waves come from violent events far beyond Earth: two black holes orbiting each other, two neutron stars colliding, or a massive star exploding. These waves travel at the speed of light. They do not bring sound through the air, and our eyes cannot see them, but they carry information about where they came from.