GW191222_033537
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-3-confident
A black hole of about 76 solar masses, formed on 2019-12-22 when two black holes of roughly 45 and 35 solar masses spiralled together 9.8 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render75.5 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
223 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
9.8 billion ly
from Earth
45+35 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 45 (37–56) and 35 (24–44) solar masses. The remnant is 76 (66–91) 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 223 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 9.8 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW250104_015122Gravitational-wave source76.0 ☉GW241201_055758Gravitational-wave source76.0 ☉GW240924_000316Gravitational-wave source76.0 ☉GW191127_050227Gravitational-wave source76.0 ☉GW230608_205047Gravitational-wave source75.0 ☉GW240923_204006Gravitational-wave source76.3 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-3-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.