The gravity of black holes is so strong that nothing can escape from them——not even light. Bodies such as stars that are orbiting near a black hole will be "captured and swallowed" by this strong gravity, never to be seen again. Compact stars——white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes——"death spiraling" into black holes generate gravitational waves, which LISA will directly detect. Additionally, the orbital trajectories (paths) of these stars will provide the first direct measurements that will test Einstein's theories and tell us about the nature of black holes.

Hear "sounds" of gravitational waves as an object spirals into a black hole.