Abstract

The success of the LIGO collaboration in detecting gravitational waves passing by the Earth adds to the significance of the first observational evidence that gravitational waves existed which was made possible over 40 years ago by the discovery of the first binary pulsar by Joe Taylor and Russell Hulse. This paper examines the theoretical controversies over how best to interpret measurements of the orbital decay of this remarkable system. Ultimately the conclusion that the decay was entirely due to the system’s emission of gravitational radiation paved the way for LIGO, as well as for a Nobel Prize for Taylor and Hulse.