Scientists uncover unprecedented black hole collision
Astronomers have caught the most massive black hole smash-up on record, called GW231123.
Detected in November 2023 by LIGO, this epic event involved two giant black holes—about 137 and 103 times the mass of our Sun.
When they merged, they created a new black hole with around 225 solar masses, blowing past the previous record.
Black holes in 'upper mass gap'
These black holes were found in a zone where stars usually don't leave behind black holes at all—the so-called "upper mass gap."
Both were spinning almost as fast as physics allows, which made them tricky to study.
Scientists think these giants probably formed from earlier mergers instead of just one star collapsing.
Discovery to be discussed at international science meeting
This discovery was picked up by LIGO's twin observatories in the US and will be discussed at an international science meeting in Glasgow this July.
Experts say it could take years to fully unpack what this means for how black holes form—and it's already rewriting what we thought we knew about our universe.