GW190426_190642
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-2.1-confident
A black hole of about 173 solar masses, formed on 2019-04-26 when two black holes of roughly 106 and 76 solar masses spiralled together 14.9 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render173 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
511 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
14.9 billion ly
from Earth
106+76 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 106 (81–151) and 76 (40–102) solar masses. The remnant is 173 (139–211) solar masses. Values in parentheses are the 90% credible ranges from LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA (GWTC).
Its event horizon, the edge past which nothing returns, spans about 511 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 14.9 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW190521Gravitational-wave source147 ☉GW231028_153006Gravitational-wave source144 ☉GW200220_061928Gravitational-wave source141 ☉GW231123_135430Gravitational-wave source222 ☉GW230704_212616Gravitational-wave source132 ☉GW231005_021030Gravitational-wave source127 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-2.1-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.