Observatory Status
Update March 23, 2020:
LIGO Laboratory is suspending its third observing run due to COVID-19. This means that LIGO Laboratory Operations are changing from an active observational science state to a non-observational state that stresses the importance of staff health and safety, as well as the safety of the detector itself. LIGO staff are continuing to monitor the site in order to ensure the safety of the detector, but we are taking measures to limit all operations of the facilities.
LIGO Laboratory will resume normal operations as soon as appropriate.
November 1, 2019
The LIGO and Virgo detectors have been operating nominally since the start of the third observing run, which began on April 1, 2019.
LIGO Hanford and Livingston Observatories concluded their commissioning break on October 31, 2019. Both facilities resumed operations on November 1, 2019 at 1500 UTC (0800 Pacific Time). To preserve the 12-month O3 observing period, the end-date for O3 is planned to be April 30, 2020.
O3 schedule as of 14 Nov 2018
Good progress has been made on commissioning the two LIGO and one Virgo instruments, and all three have exceeded the best sensitivity seen in O2. Work continues on reaching target sensitivities and operating reliably for long stretches of time.
If you have any questions, please contact the Spokespersons:
- Patrick Brady (Spokesperson, LIGO Scientific Collaboration), Laura Cadonati (Deputy Spokesperson); lsc-spokesperson@ligo.org
- Jo van den Brand (Spokesperson, Virgo Collaboration); virgo-spokesperson@ego-gw.it
Further information on the planned sensitivity, possible detection rates, and other details of interest can be found in the presentations for the Observer Town Halls of March and April 2018. An overview for LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA Observing Scenarios can be found at this Living Reviews in Relativity article.
Open Public Alerts in O3
The LIGO-Virgo (LV) Collaborations now issues Open, Public Alerts (OPA) for gravitational-wave transient event detections. OPAs enable the physics and astronomy community to pursue multi-messenger observations of gravitational-wave sources and maximize the science reach of the gravitational-wave instruments, in consistency with our data management plan.
Members of the public can view and learn about candidate detections by visiting the Gravitational Wave Candidate Event Database website (GraceDB) and clicking on the "PUBLIC ALERTS" tab. Login credentials are needed to access detailed information about each candidate.
We invite the physics and astronomy community members interested in the multi-messenger aspects of gravitational wave science to join a new "open forum". This Open LV-EM forum has no MoU requirements for joining or for participation. It is intended to facilitate the free exchange of information and ideas among gravitational-wave, electromagnetic, neutrino, and cosmic-ray astronomers. Details on how to join can be found here.
We look forward to your participation in this new and exciting era of multi-messenger science with gravitational-waves.
If you have any questions, please contact the Spokespersons:
- Patrick Brady (Spokesperson, LIGO Scientific Collaboration), Laura Cadonati (Deputy Spokesperson); lsc-spokesperson@ligo.org
- Jo van den Brand (Spokesperson, Virgo Collaboration); virgo-spokesperson@ego-gw.it
