GW240922_142106

Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0

A black hole of about 18 solar masses, formed on 2024-09-22 when two black holes of roughly 12 and 8 solar masses spiralled together 4.0 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.

GW240922_142106, a gravitational-wave sourceComputed render
Computed render: general-relativistic ray-trace; colours mapped to a visible range. Not a photograph.
18.4 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
54 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
4.0 billion ly
from Earth
12+8 ☉
the two that merged

The two black holes that merged were about 12 (10–15) and 8 (6–9) solar masses. The remnant is 18 (17–21) 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 54 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 4.0 billion years before they reached us.

Black holes of similar mass
GW240915_105151GW240915_105151Gravitational-wave source18.5 ☉GW231113_200417GW231113_200417Gravitational-wave source18.3 ☉GW241114_235258GW241114_235258Gravitational-wave source18.2 ☉GW231018_233037GW231018_233037Gravitational-wave source18.2 ☉GW241231_054133GW241231_054133Gravitational-wave source18.7 ☉GW240520_213616GW240520_213616Gravitational-wave source18.7 ☉
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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