Marcia Bartusiak discusses new observatories that allow astronomers to place their hands upon the fabric of space-time and feel the very rhythms of the universe. These vibrations in space-time, called gravity waves, are the last prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity yet to be observed directly; and the first new astronomy of the 21st century.
Combining her skills as a journalist with an advanced degree in physics, Marcia Bartusiak (pronounced MAR-sha Bar-TOO-shack) has been covering the fields of astronomy and physics for three decades. Currently, she is an adjunct professor with the Graduate Program in Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bartusiak is the author of *Thursday's Universe*, a layman's guide to the frontiers of astrophysics and cosmology, *Through a Universe Darkly*, a history of astronomers' centuries-long quest to discover the universe's composition, and *Einstein's Unfinished Symphony*, about the on-going attempt to detect gravity waves, the last experimental test of Einstein's theory of general relativity. All three were named notable science books by *The New York Times*. She also co-authored *A Positron Named Priscilla*, a National Academy of Sciences book on cutting-edge science. Her research, while getting her master's degree at Old Dominion University, involved the effects of radiation on materials sent into space as parts of orbiting astronomical observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Ultraviolet Explorer.