Story highlights Rumors rife that scientists have discovered gravitational waves

If true, they "will open a new window on the universe," says physicist

(CNN) It could be an announcement of the utmost gravity.

On Thursday, scientists are expected to declare they have detected gravitational waves . Not only will such a discovery support a prediction that's essential to Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, but it will also add to our understanding of the universe, said Szabolcs Marka, a physics professor at Columbia University

"The discovery of gravitational waves is, I think, the most important breakthrough in modern science," said Marka, leader of the Columbia Experimental Gravity Group, a member of LIGO, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.

LIGO is the organization that is expected to announce the discovery Thursday.

"Gravitational waves, when we discover them, will open a new window on the universe," Marka told CNN's Rachel Crane. "We will be able to study not just Einstein's general relativity -- we'll be able to find objects we only imagined would exist. We should see a universe that has never been observed before."

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