GW191204_110529
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-3-confident
A black hole of about 45 solar masses, formed on 2019-12-04 when two black holes of roughly 27 and 19 solar masses spiralled together 6.2 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render45.0 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
133 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
6.2 billion ly
from Earth
27+19 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 27 (21–38) and 19 (13–25) solar masses. The remnant is 45 (38–54) 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 133 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 6.2 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW240109_050431Gravitational-wave source45.2 ☉GW240615_160735Gravitational-wave source45.9 ☉GW230712_090405Gravitational-wave source44.0 ☉GW240921_201835Gravitational-wave source43.7 ☉GW230919_215712Gravitational-wave source46.5 ☉GW241111_111552Gravitational-wave source43.2 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-3-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.