Part 2/6:
Gravitational waves are ripples in the very fabric of space-time, originating from some of the universe's most extreme astrophysical events, such as black hole mergers or neutron star collisions. These phenomena are a product of general relativity, providing a new means of observing the cosmos. Unlike classical physics, which fails to account for such distortions, gravitational waves propagate through space at the speed of light, carrying energy and momentum and laden with information about their astronomical sources.