GW240519_012815
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0
A black hole of about 100 solar masses, formed on 2024-05-19 when two black holes of roughly 65 and 39 solar masses spiralled together 5.7 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render100 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
295 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
5.7 billion ly
from Earth
65+39 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 65 (49–84) and 39 (23–52) solar masses. The remnant is 100 (82–117) 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 295 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 5.7 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW190519_153544Gravitational-wave source100 ☉GW241125_010116Gravitational-wave source101 ☉GW240618_071627Gravitational-wave source101 ☉GW231029_111508Gravitational-wave source101 ☉GW230708_230935Gravitational-wave source99.0 ☉GW230819_171910Gravitational-wave source102 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.