The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) participated in the third observational campaign of the LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave observatories.

Thanks to its excellence site of observation at TNO, and its unique capabilities of observations with the TNT 2.4-m telescope, NARIT recently takes part in new challenges of compact binary collision studies with both gravitational wave and light signal. The new astrophysics necessitates rapid observations of large portions of the sky for collecting both messengers of GW telling about dynamics of the system and EM identifying the host galaxy and telling about mass ejected during and after the collision.

In December 2019, NARIT joined the GRANDMA network (Global Rapid Advanced Network Devoted to the Multi-messenger Addicts) which facilitates coordinated observations of GW sources on a global level including a citizen science program (Kilonova-catcher). During the last five months of the observational campaign of GW observations, NARIT observed a peculiar transient AT2019wxt, suspected to be associated with a GW event of a neutron star collision but finally characterized as a supernovae due to the explosion of a binary star. A great thank you to NARIT researchers: Kanthanakorn Noysena, Supachai Awiphan and NARIT director: Saran Poshyachinda.

NARIT is young in the world of multi-messenger however scientists are preparing and learning to cooperate with astrophysicists and physicists around the world in the framework of GRANDMA. When the rate of GW alerts is expected to significantly increase in the coming ten years; may the sun never set on this collaboration.

Link to the a summary of all articles related to GRANDMA collaboration :https://grandma.lal.in2p3.fr/publications/

Link to the press: https://grandma.lal.in2p3.fr/press-and-media/

 

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Figure 1: How to detect gravitational waves with interferometer. (Image credit: LIGO)