GW170608
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-2.1-confident
A black hole of about 18 solar masses, formed on 2017-06-08 when two black holes of roughly 11 and 8 solar masses spiralled together 1.1 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render17.7 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
52 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
1.1 billion ly
from Earth
11+8 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 11 (9–15) and 8 (6–9) solar masses. The remnant is 18 (17–20) 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 52 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 1.1 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW240601_231004Gravitational-wave source17.7 ☉GW240916_184352Gravitational-wave source17.8 ☉GW191105_143521Gravitational-wave source17.6 ☉GW190725_174728Gravitational-wave source17.6 ☉GW240915_001357Gravitational-wave source17.9 ☉GW230731_215307Gravitational-wave source17.4 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-2.1-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.