GW230704_212616
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-4.1
A black hole of about 132 solar masses, formed on 2023-07-04 when two black holes of roughly 89 and 50 solar masses spiralled together 23.8 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render132 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
390 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
23.8 billion ly
from Earth
89+50 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 89 (62–129) and 50 (25–80) solar masses. The remnant is 132 (101–179) 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 390 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 23.8 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW231005_021030Gravitational-wave source127 ☉GW200220_061928Gravitational-wave source141 ☉GW231028_153006Gravitational-wave source144 ☉GW230922_040658Gravitational-wave source119 ☉GW190521Gravitational-wave source147 ☉GW241230_233618Gravitational-wave source112 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-4.1), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.