"It's important to keep in mind that this animation, and the ones that will follow, exaggerate the gravitational wave’s effect quite considerably. The gravitational waves detectors such as as LIGO hope to measure are much, much weaker.
If our hypothetical circle of particles were as large as the Earth's orbit around the Sun, a realistic gravitational wave would distort it by less than the diameter of a hydrogen atom."
In laymen's terms, that would be like sitting atop My. Everest, and being able to hear the fluttering of a butterfly's wing in Tokyo.