GW240919_061559

Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0

A black hole of about 65 solar masses, formed on 2024-09-19 when two black holes of roughly 38 and 30 solar masses spiralled together 6.1 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.

GW240919_061559, a gravitational-wave sourceComputed render
Computed render: general-relativistic ray-trace; colours mapped to a visible range. Not a photograph.
64.7 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
191 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
6.1 billion ly
from Earth
38+30 ☉
the two that merged

The two black holes that merged were about 38 (33–45) and 30 (24–35) solar masses. The remnant is 65 (59–71) 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 191 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 6.1 billion years before they reached us.

Black holes of similar mass
GW240908_082628Gravitational-wave source65.0 ☉GW190916_200658Gravitational-wave source65.0 ☉GW250118_170523Gravitational-wave source64.4 ☉GW241002_030559Gravitational-wave source64.2 ☉GW230922_020344Gravitational-wave source65.4 ☉GW190727_060333Gravitational-wave source65.4 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.
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