Different types of gravitational wave (GW) detectors are considered. It is noted that
interferometric techniques offer the greatest prospects for GW registration due to their high
sensitivity and extremely wide frequency band. Using laser interferometers, proposed as far
back as 1962 in the work by ME Gertsenshtein and VI Pustovoit published in Russian (Zh.
Eksp. Teor. Fiz., vol. 43, p. 605, 1962) and in English translation (Sov. Phys. JETP, vol. 16, p.
433, 1963), it proved possible for the first time to directly detect GW emission from a merger …

In this paper, I provide an account of direct (vs. indirect) detection in gravitational-wave
astrophysics. In doing so, I highlight the epistemic considerations that lurk behind existing
debates over the application of the term “direct”. According to my analysis, there is an
epistemically significant distinction between direct and indirect detections in this context.
Roughly, our justification for trusting a direct detection depends mainly on the reliability of
instruments that are under our control, rather than on the reliability of our models of separate …