A very LIGO Christmas

Light speed: LIGO gets a surprise signal (click to expand)

By Tushna Commissariat

Every December, we like to do something special for you, dear readers, as the year draws to an end. As you are undoubtedly aware, some of the most exciting news in physics this year came from the world of gravitational-wave research and multimessenger astronomy, in the first ever observation of a neutron-star merger. Indeed, this global discovery bagged our 2017 Breakthrough of the Year award, while the pioneers of gravitational-wave astronomy won this year’s Nobel prize in physics.

To celebrate these achievements, we commissioned this exclusive comic, where the LIGO Scientific Collaboration gets a surprise visit and an unexpected gravitational-wave signal. The comic was drawn by physicist Nutsinee Kijbunchoo, who is studying for a PhD in physics from the Australian National University and is part of the LIGO Collaboration. Kijbunchoo regularly draws the Antimatter webcomic.

We invite you to fill in the blank speech bubble in the last frame. Send your ideas to pwld@iop.org by 12 January and we will publish our favourites in the New Year. Merry Christmas!