GW200208_130117
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-3-confident
A black hole of about 62 solar masses, formed on 2020-02-08 when two black holes of roughly 38 and 27 solar masses spiralled together 7.3 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render62.5 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
185 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
7.3 billion ly
from Earth
38+27 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 38 (32–47) and 27 (20–34) solar masses. The remnant is 63 (56–70) 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 185 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 7.3 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW250109_010541Gravitational-wave source62.2 ☉GW240414_054515Gravitational-wave source62.2 ☉GW200219_094415Gravitational-wave source62.2 ☉GW250114_082203Gravitational-wave source62.9 ☉GW240621_195059Gravitational-wave source62.9 ☉GW190803_022701Gravitational-wave source62.1 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-3-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.