GW200208_222617
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-3-confident
A black hole of about 61 solar masses, formed on 2020-02-08 when two black holes of roughly 51 and 12 solar masses spiralled together 13.4 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render61.0 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
180 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
13.4 billion ly
from Earth
51+12 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 51 (21–154) and 12 (7–22) solar masses. The remnant is 61 (35–160) 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 180 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 13.4 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW241009_022835Gravitational-wave source61.0 ☉GW230606_004305Gravitational-wave source60.8 ☉GW200112_155838Gravitational-wave source60.8 ☉GW231206_233134Gravitational-wave source60.6 ☉GW230726_002940Gravitational-wave source60.6 ☉GW150914Gravitational-wave source61.5 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-3-confident), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.