Cosmology Views

GW 190412: Binary Black Hole Merger

That is the  YouTube title.

link


my comment:


Fancy graphics are needed to divert one's attention from what LIGO actually detects; it is never a gravitational wave.

LIGO is so sensitive any disturbance being detected by the interferometers is magnified many times so a tiny ripple in the rigid crust could become ringing and called  a chirp.
LIGO reported 5 GW events for 4 lunar events in April 2019. One of these is fantasized in the video.

S190408an - after  New moon on 190405
S190412m - prior to Perigee on 190416     -- the GW in the video

S190421ar - after Full Moon on 190419
S190425z - after Moon+Jupiter on 190423
S190426c - after Moon+Jupiter on 190423

On April 12, 2019, for GW190412,  the Moon was getting closer to Earth while the Sun was moving away from its lunar alignment for a new moon. LIGO triggered on these changes in the crust caused by these external tidal forces, which are not astrophysical in nature.

On April 23, 2019 Moon and Jupiter were in near alignment. It is a true testament to LIGO's extreme sensitivity  when LIGO reported 2 GW detections after the peak of this celestial alignment. One can wonder about the strength of the GW ringing which persisted for 3 days.

The 'chirp' makes for funny interviews but it originates in the LIGO extreme sensitivity not in the gravitational wave.

By the way, the very first detection GW150914 was on the day of a perigee. No one noticed this incredible coincidence so no one questioned how a gravitational wave could be detected from a ripple in space-time while there was a real wave in Earth's crust caused by Earth's rotation with the Moon at its closest for a strong earth tide.

LIGO never provides evidence for its claimed mergers while continuing to declare GW detections for each perigee, full moon, or new moon.