GW151012
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-2.1-confident
A black hole of about 37 solar masses, formed on 2015-10-12 when two black holes of roughly 25 and 14 solar masses spiralled together 3.3 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render37.1 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
110 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
3.3 billion ly
from Earth
25+14 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 25 (19–39) and 14 (9–18) solar masses. The remnant is 37 (33–48) 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 110 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 3.3 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW240920_073424Gravitational-wave source36.7 ☉GW230927_153832Gravitational-wave source36.5 ☉GW240527_230910Gravitational-wave source36.4 ☉GW231231_154016Gravitational-wave source38.1 ☉GW190412Gravitational-wave source35.6 ☉GW240930_035959Gravitational-wave source35.5 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-2.1-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.