On The Space Show for Wednesday, 17 September 2025:

Merging Black Holes and Gravitational Waves - Part 2: The Hawking Black Hole Area Theorem Confirmation

This week, The Space Show is in conversation with Teagan Clarke, PhD candidate and a lead researcher in gravitational-wave astrophysics at the School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav).

MONASH UNIVERSITY — MEDIA RELEASE

11 September 2025

Australian astrophysicists help prove Stephen Hawking’s landmark black hole prediction

A global team of astrophysicists, including Australians, has witnessed a collision between two black holes that was so loud, they were able to use it to test and prove Stephen Hawking’s Theory of Black Hole Thermodynamics.

The event, observed by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA collaborations, involved two black holes merging to form a single, larger one, strikingly reminiscent of the historic first detection in 2015.

The research has been published in Physical Review Letters: doi.org/10.1103/kw5g-d732

(Image credit: OzGrav - ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery)

Turn Back Time:

Fifty-five years since the Soviet Luna 16 sample return mission to the Moon.