GW240513_183302
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0
A black hole of about 39 solar masses, formed on 2024-05-13 when two black holes of roughly 24 and 17 solar masses spiralled together 7.3 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render39.4 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
116 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
7.3 billion ly
from Earth
24+17 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 24 (20–30) and 17 (13–21) solar masses. The remnant is 39 (36–44) 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 116 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 7.3 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW240507_041632Gravitational-wave source38.9 ☉GW231108_125142Gravitational-wave source38.9 ☉GW231231_154016Gravitational-wave source38.1 ☉GW240902_143306Gravitational-wave source40.8 ☉GW191215_223052Gravitational-wave source41.4 ☉GW190408_181802Gravitational-wave source41.4 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.