GW190527_092055
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-2.1-confident
A black hole of about 56 solar masses, formed on 2019-05-27 when two black holes of roughly 36 and 22 solar masses spiralled together 8.2 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render55.5 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
164 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
8.2 billion ly
from Earth
36+22 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 36 (28–54) and 22 (14–31) solar masses. The remnant is 56 (47–73) 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 164 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 8.2 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW240930_234614Gravitational-wave source55.5 ☉GW200302_015811Gravitational-wave source55.5 ☉GW190413_052954Gravitational-wave source55.5 ☉GW170809Gravitational-wave source55.7 ☉GW230811_032116Gravitational-wave source55.3 ☉GW241009_220455Gravitational-wave source56.0 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-2.1-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.