GNGH Public Lecture on Gravitational Waves and the Einstein Telescope

by Andreas Freise, Maria Haney, Stan Bentvelsen

Thursday Oct 8, 2026, 7:30 PM → 9:00 PM Europe/Amsterdam

Colloquium Room (Nikhef)

Imagine you could hear the universe. Not with your ears, but with a giant machine buried deep under the ground. This is the idea behind the  Einstein Telescope , a new observatory that scientists want to build in Europe. The Einstein Telescope will detect something called gravitational waves. These are tiny ripples in space and time. They occur when very big and heavy objects, like black holes or neutron stars, crash into each other far away in space. Albert Einstein predicted these waves more than one hundred years ago, but scientists could only prove they were real in 2015. The waves are extremely small and hard to catch. That is why the telescope will be built underground, in a quiet place with no noise or vibrations from cars, trains, or people. The plan is to build it in a triangle shape, with three long tunnels. Each tunnel will be many kilometers long.

So, join us for an inspiring evening exploring one of the most exciting frontiers in modern physics: gravitational waves and the next-generation Einstein Telescope. Three leading experts will explain how gravitational waves are transforming our understanding of the Universe, the discoveries made with current observatories, and the scientific and technological ambitions behind the Einstein Telescope.