GW250118_170523
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0
A black hole of about 64 solar masses, formed on 2025-01-18 when two black holes of roughly 38 and 30 solar masses spiralled together 6.2 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render64.4 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
190 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
6.2 billion ly
from Earth
38+30 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 38 (33–46) and 30 (23–35) solar masses. The remnant is 64 (58–72) 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 190 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 6.2 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW241002_030559Gravitational-wave source64.2 ☉GW240919_061559Gravitational-wave source64.7 ☉GW200220_124850Gravitational-wave source64.0 ☉GW240716_034900Gravitational-wave source63.9 ☉GW170823Gravitational-wave source63.9 ☉GW240908_082628Gravitational-wave source65.0 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.