On August 17, 2017, the LIGO and VIRGO observatories combined to locate faint ripples in spacetime caused by the merger of two superdense neutron stars. Gregg Hallinan drops in to TEDxCharlottesville to talk about the most compelling observation of gravitational waves in history and what it means to mankind. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx