The gravitational waves that could shed light on the cosmic dark age

The following is an extract from our monthly Launchpad newsletter, in which resident space expert Leah Crane journeys through the solar system and beyond. You can sign up for Launchpad for free here.

The cosmos is like a water balloon wibbling and wobbling mid-flight, and we can finally detect the wobbles. Earlier this year, the researchers of the NANOGrav collaboration made a big announcement: they have found what’s known as the gravitational wave background. If you’re familiar with …