GW190916_200658
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-2.1-confident
A black hole of about 65 solar masses, formed on 2019-09-16 when two black holes of roughly 44 and 23 solar masses spiralled together 16.1 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render65.0 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
192 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
16.1 billion ly
from Earth
44+23 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 44 (31–64) and 23 (13–36) solar masses. The remnant is 65 (52–82) 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 192 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 16.1 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW240908_082628Gravitational-wave source65.0 ☉GW240919_061559Gravitational-wave source64.7 ☉GW230922_020344Gravitational-wave source65.4 ☉GW190727_060333Gravitational-wave source65.4 ☉GW240920_124024Gravitational-wave source65.6 ☉GW250118_170523Gravitational-wave source64.4 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-2.1-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.