Tests of general relativity

hypothetical planet between the Sun and Mercury

star orbiting close to the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way

thumb|400 px|Diagram regarding the confirmation of gravitomagnetism by Gravity Probe B

space observatory to test frame dragging and geodetic effect

ongoing experiment measuring the distance between the Earth and the Moon using laser light

20th-century total solar eclipse

pulsar with a binary companion, often a white dwarf or neutron star

Experiment designed to test Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity

test of the theory of relativity in October 1971

scientific experiments

time delay caused by space-time distortion near massive objects

Frame-dragging is an effect on spacetime, predicted by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, that is due to non-static stationary distributions of mass–energy. A stationary field is one that is in a steady state, but the masses causing that field may be non-static ⁠— rotating, for instance. More generally, the subject that deals with the effects caused by mass–energy currents is known as gravitoelectromagnetism, which is analogous to the magnetism of classical electromagnetism.

comparing energy levels of nucleons or electrons

GW250114 was a black hole merger detected by LIGO on January 14, 2025. It generated the clearest gravitational wave signal received to date, with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of about 77–80, far clearer than the 42 SNR of the previous best gravitational wave observation (of GW230814). It identified (with a 4.1σ level of significance) the first overtone of the Kerr solution for a rotating black hole. The findings were corroborated in a September 2025 scientific article.