- Following 40
- Followers 19.7K
- Engagement 0.86%
- Avg likes 154
- Avg comments 3
About LIGO-Virgo
LIGO-Virgo (@ligo_virgo) is a Non-Profits & Religious Organizations creator on Instagram, also filed under Spirituality & Religion. The account has 19,705 followers and 674 published posts. Recent posts average 154 likes and 3 comments, an engagement rate of 0.86%.
With 19.7K followers, LIGO-Virgo is a micro creator by the common 10,000 to 100,000 definition. Set against 40 accounts followed, the audience works out to about 493 followers per account LIGO-Virgo follows. LIGO-Virgo uses an Instagram professional account. Flinque files LIGO-Virgo under Non-Profits & Religious Organizations, with Spirituality & Religion as a secondary category.
The Instagram bio for LIGO-Virgo runs to 17 words. The latest activity Flinque has on record for LIGO-Virgo dates from July 2026.
Story Highlights
Unlocking shows the title and cover image of every story highlight this creator keeps pinned to the profile.
674 Posts
Of the 10 most recent posts shown for LIGO-Virgo, 4 are videos, 3 are single images and 3 are carousels. No single format accounts for most of them. LIGO-Virgo has built a substantial archive of 674 posts. Against the audience, that is roughly 29 followers for each post published. LIGO-Virgo also keeps 8 story highlights on the profile. All 10 carry captions, averaging 138 words each. The captions are written mainly in English. Words that recur across them include gravitational, detector, waves, next and answer. The captions tag #askvirgo, #gwtc5, #gravitationalwaves and #astrodon.
In the #AskVirgo series, we answer the most interesting, difficult or curious questions we are asked about Virgo and the detection of gravitational waves ✨ If you have any questions, please write them in the comments below ⬇️ we will answer them in an upcoming video!
Dr. Glanzer is the first-ever winner of the award for both detector characterization and calibration. Here she is receiving her Noise Slayer lightsaber in her Calibration Wizard hat at the recent LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA meeting in Pisa.
Dr. Glanzer is recognized for critical and timely contributions to both detector characterization and calibration for the fourth observing run (O4), including improved calibration of LIGO data at high frequencies, mitigation of LIGO detector glitches, and production of key LIGO data products.
Glanzer’s work has impacted all areas of gravitational-wave science by improving the sensitivity of the search algorithms used to identify candidate signals and the performance of the gravitational-wave detectors themselves. Glanzer stepped up to lead the production of data quality vetoes in O4, used by all astrophysical searches for gravitational waves to exclude periods of data likely to cause a high rate of false positive detections. As the LIGO Detector Characterization group’s detector improvement subgroup lead, Glanzer has also led efforts to use techniques from gravitational-wave data analysis to increase the sensitivity of our interferometers.
Read more about Dr. Glanzer's work:
Read more about the LIGO Laboratory Award for Excellence in Detector Characterization and Calibration:
Image credit: Yumeng Xu
16 July at 14:00 UTC, with the recording on YouTube after
Register for free:
It is part of the Point Absorber Mitigation System (PAM)! Point absorbers are small regions on the surface of Virgo’s mirrors that absorb much more laser light than the surrounding area, heat up and create distortions 🔥 They can originate from microscopic imperfections in the mirror coating, or from tiny dust particles 🔎
The principle of the PAM system is simple: gently heat the cooler areas surrounding the point absorbers to restore a uniform temperature 🌡️ A ceramic heater emits intense heat, and a gold-coated parabolic reflector directs it toward a specially designed metal mask
The mask acts like a stencil, shaping the desired heating pattern. The shaped beam then enters the interferometer and heats the Virgo mirror where it is needed, compensating for the thermal distortions produced by point absorbers, and reducing their impact on Virgo’s performance 🥇
🔧 Recently the Point Absorber Mitigation system was installed in front of one of the mirrors of Virgo, by researchers of the Virgo Groups of Rome 1 and 2, with the support of EGO staff.
Over the next weeks we’ll share more about the upgrade works ongoing on the Virgo detector, so keep an eye on this page!
9 July at 14:00 UTC, with the recording on YouTube after.
Register here:
#GravitationalWaves #Astrodon
In the #AskVirgo series, we answer the most interesting, difficult or curious questions we are asked about Virgo and the detection of gravitational waves ✨ If you have any questions, please write them in the comments below ⬇️ we will answer them in an upcoming video!
💡 If your answer was “it’s the laser that travels in the arms of Virgo”: sorry you got it wrong, the laser of Virgo is infrared, so you wouldn’t be able to see it. This green laser is a fundamental part of the Auxiliary Laser System (we’ll call it ALS from now on), a neat tool that was added to Virgo in 2020.
🔒 The purpose of the ALS is to help in the “locking” of the interferometer, the process to bring it to its optimal working state, a delicate task that requires the control of many parameters. The ALS allows the Virgo team to “lock” the central part of the interferometer separately from the arms, and then put everything together. Breaking the process into these steps makes it easier.
Now the ALS got an important upgrade, done by EGO’s Optics&Control team, in order to make it more resilient and stable 💪 Before, it used to require 15 meters of optical fibers, now it’s all contained within an optical bench, making it more robust when the environment is very noisy (wind especially is one of its worst enemies, because it makes everything vibrate!) 🌬️
📣 Over the next weeks we’ll share more about the upgrade works ongoing on the Virgo detector, so keep an eye on this page!
🧹 We’re watching a cleaning operation taking place inside one of Virgo’s towers, where a mirror would normally be located. The mirror has been removed for an upgrade, and this is a great opportunity to give the tower a thorough clean using a method we don’t often see in everyday life.
At this stage, the tower has already been cleaned with isopropyl alcohol and synthetic cloths designed to shed very few fibres, but this isn’t enough as some dirt particles remain stuck to the surfaces. It’s therefore time to clean with CO₂ ‘snow’ ❄️
🔫 Extremely pure carbon dioxide is sprayed onto the surfaces, where it sublimates (it changes from a solid to a gas, skipping the liquid state). The sudden phase change causes the particles to detach from the surfaces, after which they are carried out of the tower via the ventilation system.
Any particle of dirt can compromise the performance of a gravitational wave detector, so in this environment, cleaning is an absolute priority. You don’t need to do this at home, though!
💡 But how is this very special condition achieved? Julien Gargiulo, engineer in the EGO Vacuum&Mechanics Department, tells us everything about Virgo’s vacuum pumps 💨
In the #AskVirgo series, we answer the most interesting, difficult or curious questions we are asked about Virgo and the detection of gravitational waves
✨ If you have any questions, please write them in the comments below ⬇️ we will answer them in an upcoming video!
Here we see researchers from IFAE, Barcelona,installing new instrumented baffles in some of the towers containing the mirrors of the Virgo detector.
💍 What are baffles?
In general gravitational wave detector baffles are rings positioned to absorb scattered light, which is light propagating in unwanted directions, creating noise and reducing the sensitivity of the detector.
🔎 A new diagnostic system for Virgo
But there’s more, these baffles are instrumented! Each of them has 120 sensors monitoring scattered light inside the interferometer, introducing a new instrument that extends the collaboration's ability to monitor and understand sources of noise that affect detector sensitivity. Beyond monitoring scattered light, the system provides information that can be used for detector diagnostics and performance monitoring during operation, including the real time study of potential sources of glitches and deformations or imperfections in mirrors.This will contribute to a more detailed understanding of detector behaviour and support future improvements in Virgo's sensitivity to gravitational waves.
🔧Over the next weeks we’ll share more about the upgrade works ongoing on the Virgo detector, so keep an eye on this page!
LIGO-Virgo's engagement
LIGO-Virgo's engagement rate on Instagram is 0.86%, under 1%, fewer than 1 like or comment per 100 followers. On a typical post that comes to about 1 like or comment for every 116 followers. Likes outnumber comments by roughly 51 to 1, with 154 likes and 3 comments on an average post, so most reactions are taps rather than replies.
Engagement rate
0.86%
- Avg likes
- 154
- Avg comments
- 3
- Interactions : followers
- 1 : 116
Lookalike Creators
A free account lists creators whose audiences behave like this one, ready to shortlist and compare side by side.
Age & Gender
Unlocking shows how this audience splits across age bands and gender, charted from follower data.
Audience Location
Unlocking reveals the countries and cities where the most active followers of this account are concentrated.
Primary Language
Unlocking shows the languages this audience uses most in comments, interactions and the content it consumes.
Audience Interests
Unlocking lists the topics and categories this audience follows and engages with most often across the platform.
Authenticity
Unlocking scores how genuine the audience is, flagging fake, inactive or bot followers found in engagement patterns.
Audience Quality Score
Unlocking gives one overall audience quality score combining authenticity, engagement, follower activity and audience relevance.
Brand Affinity
Unlocking names the brands this audience already follows, mentions or engages with across social platforms.
Content Strategy
Unlocking breaks down the content pillars, tone and visual style this creator uses, and which formats perform best.
Commercial Insights
Unlocking shows collaboration types, an estimated pricing tier and a brand safety risk read for sponsored campaigns.
Industry Fit
Unlocking rates how well this creator and audience align with specific industry verticals and brand categories.
Research LIGO-Virgo further
Flinque ranks Instagram creators in Spirituality & Religion, categories LIGO-Virgo is filed under, and its free tools measure the same figures for any public account.
Related rankings
Frequently asked questions
These answers about LIGO-Virgo are generated from the Instagram profile data Flinque holds for the account.
Who is LIGO-Virgo?
LIGO-Virgo (@ligo_virgo) is a Non-Profits & Religious Organizations creator on Instagram, also filed under Spirituality & Religion. LIGO-Virgo uses an Instagram professional account. The Instagram bio for LIGO-Virgo runs to 17 words.
How many followers does LIGO-Virgo have?
LIGO-Virgo has 19,705 followers on Instagram (19.7K). Set against 40 accounts followed, the audience works out to about 493 followers per account LIGO-Virgo follows. LIGO-Virgo has built a substantial archive of 674 posts.
What is LIGO-Virgo's engagement rate?
LIGO-Virgo's engagement rate on Instagram is 0.86%, under 1%, fewer than 1 like or comment per 100 followers. On a typical post that comes to about 1 like or comment for every 116 followers. Likes outnumber comments by roughly 51 to 1, with 154 likes and 3 comments on an average post, so most reactions are taps rather than replies.
What does LIGO-Virgo post about on Instagram?
Flinque files LIGO-Virgo under Non-Profits & Religious Organizations, with Spirituality & Religion as a secondary category. Of the 10 most recent posts shown for LIGO-Virgo, 4 are videos, 3 are single images and 3 are carousels. The 10 recent Instagram captions Flinque holds for LIGO-Virgo repeatedly use the words gravitational, detector, waves, next and answer. LIGO-Virgo's captions carry hashtags such as #askvirgo, #gwtc5 and #gravitationalwaves. LIGO-Virgo writes those captions mainly in English. LIGO-Virgo keeps 8 story highlights, which open with a free Flinque account.
How do I contact LIGO-Virgo for a collaboration?
LIGO-Virgo's contact details are not published on Flinque's public profile. Brands with a free Flinque account can shortlist LIGO-Virgo and use Flinque's outreach tools wherever a contact route is on file.
Links
LIGO-Virgo's own Instagram profile is the one outbound link Flinque publishes for the account.
Public profile data sourced from Instagram. Flinque is not affiliated with LIGO-Virgo.