APOD - GW250114: Rotating Black Holes Collide
Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2025 September 24 GW250114: Rotating Black Holes Collide Illustration Credit: Aurore Simonnet ( SSU / EdEon ), LVK, URI; LIGO Collaboration Explanation: It was the strongest gravitational wave signal yet measured -- what did it show? GW250114 was detected by both arms of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in Washington and Louisiana USA earlier this year. Analysis showed that the event was created when two black holes , each of mass around 33 times the mass of the Sun , coalesced into one larger black hole with a mass of around 63 solar masses. Even though the event happened about a billion light years away, the signal was so strong that the spin of all black holes , as well ...
