GW190814
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-2.1-confident
A black hole of about 26 solar masses, formed on 2019-08-14 when a black hole and a neutron star of roughly 23 and 3 solar masses spiralled together 750 million light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render25.7 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
76 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
750 million ly
from Earth
23+3 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 23 (22–25) and 3 (3–3) solar masses. The remnant is 26 (24–27) 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 76 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 750 million years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW230723_101834Gravitational-wave source26.4 ☉GW230706_104333Gravitational-wave source26.6 ☉GW200210_092254Gravitational-wave source26.7 ☉GW241011_233834Gravitational-wave source24.4 ☉GW230605_065343Gravitational-wave source27.3 ☉GW241110_124123Gravitational-wave source23.7 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-2.1-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.