If they can reach that goal, then, extrapolating from the current observations, LIGO might eventually spot as many as one
black hole merger per day.
By comparing the models to recent observations of clusters in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond, the results show that Advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational - Wave Observatory) could eventually see more than 100 binary
black hole mergers per year.
Not exact matches
The
merger generates powerful ripples in space called gravitational waves that kick the newly merged
black hole away at speeds of hundreds or even thousands of kilometres
per second.
This suggests LIGO — which is in the midst of upgrades to boost its sensitivity and planning for a new station in India — could eventually be detecting the chirps from
black hole mergers at a rate of anywhere between once
per day to once
per week.
But Goldstein and Racusin said that LIGO is expected to detect more merging
black holes in the coming years, as many as 100 such
mergers per year at the instrument's peak design sensitivity, Goldstein said.