NASA shares image of rotating black holes collide during GW250114 event

GW250114: Rotating Black Holes Collide (Image: NASA/Aurore Simonnet (SSU/EdEon), LVK, URI; LIGO Collaboration)

A ripple from deep space has travelled a billion years to reach Earth, offering astronomers their clearest insight yet into colliding black holes.

What did LIGO detect in the signal?
Earlier this year, detectors in Washington and Louisiana picked up GW250114. The signal revealed two black holes, each 33 times heavier than the Sun, merging into one. The final black hole weighed about 63 solar masses.

How accurate were the findings from the merger?
The signal was strong enough to measure the spin of all black holes with exceptional precision. It also recorded the first ringing vibrations of the final black hole.

Astronomers verified that the merged black hole's total event horizon area was greater than the two original ones combined.

Why is this detection important to science?

The results confirm predictions for black hole mergers and the physics involved. Researchers indicate that how clearly this detection appears makes scientists more confident in models applied in the analysis of gravitational waves.

An illustration has also been released, showing an imagined view near one black hole just before collision.