On September 14, 2015 the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), made the first ever detection of gravitational waves. These waves came from the merger of two massive black holes more than a billion light years away. The discovery not only proved the existence of gravitational waves, further validating Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, but also opened an entirely new branch of astronomy. Now astronomical observations can be done without the need of any type of light.

In my talk, I will discuss LIGO and the detection as well as the analysis that shows this was two merging black holes. I will also discuss what gravitational waves are, and what the future holds for gravitational wave astronomy.