GW190910_112807
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-2.1-confident
A black hole of about 74 solar masses, formed on 2019-09-10 when two black holes of roughly 44 and 34 solar masses spiralled together 5.0 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render74.4 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
220 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
5.0 billion ly
from Earth
44+34 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 44 (37–51) and 34 (27–41) solar masses. The remnant is 74 (66–83) 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 220 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 5.0 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW240908_125134Gravitational-wave source74.0 ☉GW230608_205047Gravitational-wave source75.0 ☉GW191222_033537Gravitational-wave source75.5 ☉GW240621_214041Gravitational-wave source73.0 ☉GW231223_032836Gravitational-wave source73.0 ☉GW231221_135041Gravitational-wave source73.0 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-2.1-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.