Scientists have detected the biggest-known merger of two black holes using gravitational wave detectors, offering new insights into these cosmic collisions.
Why it matters: The discovery enhances our understanding of how black holes can go through successive mergers to produce much more massive black holes, shedding light on the enigmatic processes governing these cosmic objects.
The details:
- The collision, causing a gravitational wave, was observed on November 23, 2023, by two detectors in the US states of Washington and Louisiana, operated by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).
- The two colliding black holes were about 100 and 140 times the mass of the Sun, resulting in a black hole more than 265 times the mass of the Sun.
- This was much larger than the previous record-holding black hole collision, GW190521, observed in May 2019, which was about 140 times the mass of the Sun.
The event was part of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) network’s observations, and the gravitational wave from the collision, detected for 0.1 seconds, was named GW231123.
What they’re saying:
- “It increases our confidence that black holes can go through a series of successive mergers, to produce much more massive black holes,” stated Mark Hannam, a professor at Cardiff University and a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.
- Hannam explained that black holes as massive as the one observed are unlikely to form solely from dying stars, suggesting that a series of mergers is a more likely explanation.
“It increases our confidence that black holes can go through a series of successive mergers, to produce much more massive black holes.”
The impact: The black hole collision will not impact the Earth or the Milky Way galaxy, as it occurred millions to billions of light years away, millions of years ago.
What’s next: This groundbreaking discovery continues to shed light on the enigmatic processes governing black holes, enhancing our understanding of the universe.
