“As a theoretical physicist, I have spent my life contributing to our understanding of the universe. It is thrilling to see predictions I made over 40 years ago such as the black hole area and uniqueness theorems being observed within my lifetim,” Stephen Hawkins wrote on his Facebook post. 

Hawkins said the breakthrough matched with predictions he made more than 40 years ago at Cambridge University.

 “Gravitational waves provide a completely new way of looking at the universe. The ability to detect them has the potential to revolutionise astronomy. This discovery is the first detection of a black hole binary system and the first observation of black holes merging,” Hawkins said in his interview with BBC. 

Here’s his complete interview in BBC:

Here’s what he posted on Facebook: