GW241129_021832
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0
A black hole of about 51 solar masses, formed on 2024-11-29 when two black holes of roughly 30 and 23 solar masses spiralled together 8.3 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render50.6 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
149 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
8.3 billion ly
from Earth
30+23 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 30 (26–37) and 23 (18–28) solar masses. The remnant is 51 (47–56) 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 149 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 8.3 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW230704_021211Gravitational-wave source50.7 ☉GW240525_031210Gravitational-wave source50.2 ☉GW241130_034908Gravitational-wave source51.6 ☉GW240505_133552Gravitational-wave source51.8 ☉GW230924_124453Gravitational-wave source49.4 ☉GW230708_053705Gravitational-wave source49.4 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.