GW241225_082815
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0
A black hole of about 94 solar masses, formed on 2024-12-25 when two black holes of roughly 56 and 42 solar masses spiralled together 6.1 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render94.0 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
278 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
6.1 billion ly
from Earth
56+42 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 56 (47–67) and 42 (33–51) solar masses. The remnant is 94 (83–107) 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 278 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 6.1 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW241116_151753Gravitational-wave source95.0 ☉GW231004_232346Gravitational-wave source96.0 ☉GW230820_212515Gravitational-wave source92.0 ☉GW230914_111401Gravitational-wave source91.2 ☉GW190929_012149Gravitational-wave source90.3 ☉GW190701_203306Gravitational-wave source90.2 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.