GEO600 has reached a sensitivity of 2·10^-22/√Hz

The direct detection of gravitational waves is one of the most challenging goals of today's experimental physics. Although gravitational waves emitted in catastrophical astrophysical events like the merging of two dense stars in a binary system or a super nova collapse carry a vast amount of energy, the observable efects on earth are tiny. Gravitational waves from such sources emitted at the centre of the milky way induce a relative length change of only 10^-21. For a typical interferometric gravitational-wave detector this corresponds to 10^-18m. Interferometers are ideally suited to measure these tiny changes of length induced by gravitational waves.

The GEO600 detector located 20km south of Hannover is one of five sites of large scale interferometric gravitational-wave detectors worldwide. In the recent past the sensitivity of GEO600 has rapidly evolved close to design sensitivity by cutting down one after the other technical noise source. The sensitivity reached is sufficient for seeing strong galactic signals. GEO600 is now continuously taking data around the clock, seven days a week together with three interferometric gravitational-wave detectors in the US. The data of all of the four detectors are being analyzed for signs of gravitational waves.

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