GW190925_232845
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-2.1-confident
A black hole of about 35 solar masses, formed on 2019-09-25 when two black holes of roughly 21 and 16 solar masses spiralled together 3.0 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render34.9 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
103 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
3.0 billion ly
from Earth
21+16 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 21 (18–27) and 16 (12–18) solar masses. The remnant is 35 (32–38) 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 103 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 3.0 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW240930_035959Gravitational-wave source35.5 ☉GW190512_180714Gravitational-wave source34.3 ☉GW190412Gravitational-wave source35.6 ☉GW191113_071753Gravitational-wave source34.0 ☉GW231014_040532Gravitational-wave source33.8 ☉GW240527_230910Gravitational-wave source36.4 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-2.1-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.