Gravitational waves are essentially "ripples", similar to the ripples made in a pond when a pebble is tossed in, but on a cosmological scale. The mass in question are binary systems - pulsars, neutron stars, or black holes - which orbit around each other. According to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and his formula E=mc<sup>2</sup>, both objects emit gravitational waves while losing energy as they gradually approach, eventually resulting in a collision at one-half the speed of light, forming a single object as well as emitting a final, very strong burst of gravitational waves | Gravitational waves are essentially "ripples", similar to the ripples made in a pond when a pebble is tossed in, but on a cosmological scale. The mass in question are binary systems - pulsars, neutron stars, or black holes - which orbit around each other. According to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and his formula E=mc<sup>2</sup>, both objects emit gravitational waves while losing energy as they gradually approach, eventually resulting in a collision at one-half the speed of light, forming a single object as well as emitting a final, very strong burst of gravitational waves |