GW240527_183429

Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0

A black hole of about 80 solar masses, formed on 2024-05-27 when two black holes of roughly 52 and 33 solar masses spiralled together 20.9 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.

GW240527_183429, a gravitational-wave sourceComputed render
Computed render: general-relativistic ray-trace; colours mapped to a visible range. Not a photograph.
80.0 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
236 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
20.9 billion ly
from Earth
52+33 ☉
the two that merged

The two black holes that merged were about 52 (40–69) and 33 (18–48) solar masses. The remnant is 80 (68–100) 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 236 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 20.9 billion years before they reached us.

Black holes of similar mass
GW230630_125806GW230630_125806Gravitational-wave source80.0 ☉GW170729GW170729Gravitational-wave source80.3 ☉GW231119_075248GW231119_075248Gravitational-wave source79.0 ☉GW230928_215827GW230928_215827Gravitational-wave source79.0 ☉GW240514_121713GW240514_121713Gravitational-wave source78.9 ☉GW240705_053215GW240705_053215Gravitational-wave source78.2 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.
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