GW240514_121713
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0
A black hole of about 79 solar masses, formed on 2024-05-14 when two black holes of roughly 47 and 37 solar masses spiralled together 8.4 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render78.9 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
233 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
8.4 billion ly
from Earth
47+37 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 47 (41–56) and 37 (26–44) solar masses. The remnant is 79 (73–89) 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 233 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 8.4 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW231119_075248Gravitational-wave source79.0 ☉GW230928_215827Gravitational-wave source79.0 ☉GW240705_053215Gravitational-wave source78.2 ☉GW230707_124047Gravitational-wave source78.0 ☉GW200216_220804Gravitational-wave source78.0 ☉GW190413_134308Gravitational-wave source78.0 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.