The Dance of Two Black Holes (IMAGE)

U.S. National Science Foundation

The Dance of Two Black Holes

Caption

This illustration shows the merger of two black holes and the gravitational waves that ripple outward as the black holes spiral toward each other. The black holes -- which represent those detected by LIGO on Dec. 26, 2015 -- were 14 and eight times the mass of the sun, until they merged, forming a single black hole 21 times the mass of the sun. In reality, the area near the black holes would appear highly warped, and the gravitational waves would be difficult to see directly.

Credit

LIGO/T. Pyle

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