Spitzer infrared observations of a gravitational wave source--a binary neutron star merger

GW170817 is the name given to a gravitational wave signal seen by the LIGO and Virgo detectors on 17 August 2017. Lasting for about 100 seconds, the signal was produced by the merger of two neutron stars. The observation was then confirmed - the first time this has happened for gravitational waves - by observations with light waves: the preceding five detections of merging black holes did not have (and were not expected to have) any detectable electromagnetic signals. The light from the neutron ...