Since 2015, scientists have observed ripples in spacetime, called gravitational waves, produced when cosmic beasts such as black holes merge. Each of the 50 large circles below represents one of these mergers.
How to read this chart
Circles are scaled to the mass of the object they represent. The outer circle, representing the mass of the merger result, is scaled up to allow comparison across events.
Hover or click on any merger to see more information. Events marked in blue have extra detail.
Type of Merger
black hole / black hole
Original & Final Masses
in solar masses
34 M
Gravitational wave
Time since event | 1 billion years
date detected
Location on the sky
The merger probably occurred within the colored region on this map. The Milky Way and two stars are shown for orientation
Source: LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration
Created by Nadieh Bremer | VisualCinnamon.com