China launched two satellites to find sources of gravitational waves

China has launched a pair of satellites which will watch for the electromagnetic counterparts that are emitted along with gravitational waves. These signals will be relayed quickly to the ground, helping narrow the area of sky scientists need to search to find the sources of gravitational waves.

These two 140-kilogram satellites make up the Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM), which will watch the entire sky at all times for signals from some of the most violent events in the universe – collisions between a …