Astronomers observe a monumental collision of supermassive black holes

Scientists have recorded the largest black hole merger in human history, marking a major breakthrough in astrophysics. The event occurred outside the Milky Way galaxy, according to "The Guardian".

In November 2023, the LIGO gravitational wave detectors in Washington and Louisiana detected space-time ripples generated by the cosmic collision. Researchers later confirmed that the signals originated about 10 billion light-years away, caused by the merger of two black holes with masses of 103 and 137 times that of the Sun.

The resulting black hole has a mass of 265 solar masses, making it the largest black hole merger ever recorded.

LIGO physicists believe such massive black holes likely formed through previous mergers. Remarkably, the detectors were able to capture not only the impact of the collision, but also its “ringdown phase” —the brief period of vibrations and stabilization following the merger. The gravitational waves that reached Earth induced oscillations thousands of times smaller than the width of a proton.

In a related development, scientists in February 2025 identified the brightest and fastest-growing ultramassive black hole ever observed. Estimated to be 17 billion times heavier than the Sun, this black hole is consuming the equivalent of one Sun’s mass each day, releasing vast amounts of energy as it draws in matter.

Soon, researchers plan to directly measure the mass and observe the spin of this ultramassive black hole using the GRAVITY+ instrument, a highly advanced system for tracking celestial bodies. These measurements will help scientists better understand the relationship between black hole mass and luminosity.

As a reminder, scientists also recently simulated what an artificial solar eclipse would look like using two orbiting satellites, a step forward in space-based climate control and research.