How A Cosmic Collision Sparked A Native American Translator's Labor Of Love

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March 31, 20195:17 PM ET



Scientist Corey Gray and his mother, Sharon Yellowfly, are pictured at one of the two massive detectors that make up the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. One facility, where Gray works, is in Washington state, and the other is in Louisiana.
Courtesy of Russell Barber


On April 1, scientists will officially restart their search for gravitational waves after a year spent making improvements to massive twin detectors. Discoveries should soon start rolling in, and when they do, there's a good chance the news will be translated into a Native American language called Blackfoot, or Siksika.

That's thanks to Corey Gray, who works at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) site in Washington state. He has been collaborating with his mom to translate this cutting-edge field of science into an endangered language spoken by just thousands of people worldwide.

Gravitational waves were predicted by Albert Einstein more than a century ago. They're like the ripples in a pond created by a tossed-in pebble, only these waves move through the very fabric of the universe, space-time, and they're created by powerful collisions such as two black holes smashing together.

The first detection of these waves — in 2015 — made history. "It was just a life-changing experience when we had that first detection," Gray says.

More:
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/31/706032203/how-a-cosmic-collision-sparked-a-native-american-translators-labor-of-love