Mysterious collision of a black hole and a much smaller object 800 million years ago

Artist's impression of black hole collision. Credit Alex Andrix
24 June 2020

Gravitational Wave scientists of LIGO and VIRGO collabration, including CGA astrophysicists announced detection of gravitational wave that is the result of collision of a black hole around 23 times the size of the Sun with a much smaller object 2.6 solar mass. This mystrious object falls within the astrophysical mass gap between ordinary black holes and neutron stars, making it either the heaviest neutron star or the lightest black hole ever discovered. 

This gravitational wave source, that came from a distance of around 800 million light years, was detected on 14 August 2019. This is the first detection of gravitational waves from collision of two astrophysical objects with unequal masses. 

Read the full story here.

Find more information about this event on LIGO website.   

Prof. Susan Scott's interview by 2CC Radio

Prof. Susan Scott's inteview by The Space Show (The Space Show's 2020 interviews)

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