Scientists have recorded the largest black hole merger ever observed using gravitational waves, according to a report from EurekAlert.
The event was detected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA scientific collaboration. They utilized gravitational wave observatories located in Hanford and Livingston, USA, along with gravitational wave sensors.
The colossal merger involved two black holes, one with a mass 100 times that of the Sun and the other 140 times the Sun`s mass. These objects began orbiting each other at high speed before colliding and forming a single, even more massive black hole.
The phenomenon was initially detected via gravitational waves back in November 2023. The signal identifying this merger was named GW231123.
«The collaboration… discovered the merger of the most massive black holes ever observed using gravitational waves… using observatories in Hanford and Livingston. The merger produced a final black hole with a mass 225 times that of the Sun,» the report from the publication states.
It is noted that approximately 300 black hole mergers have been recorded to date using gravitational waves. Previously, the most massive confirmed binary black hole system was GW190521, which had a total mass exceeding 140 solar masses.
According to EurekAlert, scientists are scheduled to present these groundbreaking findings at scientific conferences in Glasgow, Scotland, taking place from July 14 to 18.
