GRAVITATIONAL WAVES DETECTED

In a discovery that rocked the world of astronomy and physics, scientists announced in October that they had detected ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves. Einstein predicted the existence of such waves — in this case produced by the collision of a pair of neutron stars some 130 million years ago — in his general theory of relativity. But this was further proof that Einstein was right.

The ability to detect gravitational waves could help astronomers piece together clues about everything from the evolution of the universe to the nature of dark matter, an elusive substance that is thought to make up 70 percent of the cosmos