GW241201_055758
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0
A black hole of about 76 solar masses, formed on 2024-12-01 when two black holes of roughly 47 and 33 solar masses spiralled together 23.2 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render76.0 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
224 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
23.2 billion ly
from Earth
47+33 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 47 (35–66) and 33 (20–46) solar masses. The remnant is 76 (61–99) 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 224 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 23.2 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW250104_015122Gravitational-wave source76.0 ☉GW240924_000316Gravitational-wave source76.0 ☉GW191127_050227Gravitational-wave source76.0 ☉GW240923_204006Gravitational-wave source76.3 ☉GW191222_033537Gravitational-wave source75.5 ☉GW230608_205047Gravitational-wave source75.0 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.