GW231110_040320

Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-4.1

A black hole of about 31 solar masses, formed on 2023-11-10 when two black holes of roughly 19 and 13 solar masses spiralled together 6.2 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.

GW231110_040320, a gravitational-wave sourceComputed render
Computed render: general-relativistic ray-trace; colours mapped to a visible range. Not a photograph.
30.6 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
90 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
6.2 billion ly
from Earth
19+13 ☉
the two that merged

The two black holes that merged were about 19 (15–25) and 13 (10–16) solar masses. The remnant is 31 (27–35) 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 90 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 6.2 billion years before they reached us.

Black holes of similar mass
GW231114_043211Gravitational-wave source30.1 ☉GW190708_232457Gravitational-wave source30.1 ☉GW241113_163507Gravitational-wave source31.7 ☉GW231118_005626Gravitational-wave source29.4 ☉GW200225_060421Gravitational-wave source32.1 ☉GW191219_163120Gravitational-wave source32.2 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-4.1), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.
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