Shanika Galaudage

Of course, I love you too @egovirgo.bsky.social, but I believe this heart was sent by the LIGO detectors

Awwww 🥰 we love you too LIGO!

We love both observatories equally and want both of them to continue running ❤️

@ligo.org

Well in the cases the black holes are not spinning and are equal mass, the ~4-5% holds, regardless of the total mass.

So a 30+30 would radiate away ~3 Msun
And a 70+70 would radiate ~7 Msun

That percentage changes when you introduce spins or have unequal masses.

Ha.

Seriously though, neutron star week in week of Aug 17? or maybe it should be in the week of the discovery publication Feb 24?

But if these two pairs had different spins, it would make this a little more complicated.

Yes, many of the black holes we find are paired with similar mass black holes!

Radiated energy is higher if the total mass is higher. It is also higher for things that have more equal masses.

So if the total mass of hefty + hefty was the same as smol + chonk, the former would radiate more energy!

So I think I need to make an infographic with this visualisation… LASER KITTY

I’m surprised Rami… no opinions on the lack of neutron stars? Hmmm?! 🤨

It is definitely a very cool field! This year is the 10th anniversary of the first detection, so we are really just getting started 😎

Oh wow, I never noticed 😂
Thanks for pointing that out!

Indeed! Using c = f*wavelength

Gravitational waves travel at the speed of light (that’s something we confirmed back in 2017 with the detection of GW170817, a collision between two neutron stars 🤩)

🤣

*cough* I mean neutron stars are superior, right? *cough*

I think I need to write an April 1st paper on the chonkiness of black holes

Thank you for this kind comment 🥰

NOOOOO 😭
I THOUGHT I ESCAPED THIS!!! 😭😭😭

(also, such a cuuuuute kitty 🥰)

For more details, check out this science summary: ligo.org/science-summaries/gw231123

@ligo.org @egovirgo.bsky.social
#GW231123

An infographic titled "How BIG are the BLACK HOLES we find with GRAVITATIONAL WAVES?" by @astronerdika. The graphic displays a range of black hole masses detected via gravitational waves, categorized by their size in solar masses (mass of the Sun) and represented with playful cat-like black hole illustrations. The categories from left to right are: 1. "<5 times the mass of the Sun" - Labeled "smol" - Very small black hole illustration represented by a curled up black cat - Arrow pointing left: "THIS WAY TO NEUTRON STARS" - Example: "Big component of GW230529 (~3.6 times the mass of the Sun)" 2. "~10 times the mass of the Sun" - Labeled "basic" - Slightly larger black hole cat illustration - Caption: "LOTS OF BLACK HOLES" 3. "~35–45 times the mass of the Sun" - Labeled "hefty" - Bigger black hole cat illustration - Continues the idea of a populated range 4. ">60 times the mass of the Sun" - Labeled "chonky" - Large black hole cat illustration - Caption: "FORBIDDEN TERRITORY? (can these even be made from the collapse of star cores?!)" - Example: "Components of GW190521 (~85 + ~66 times the mass of the Sun)" 5. ">100 times the mass of the Sun" - Labeled "oh lawd" - Very large, curled-up black hole cat illustration - Arrow pointing right: "THIS WAY TO INTERMEDIATE MASS BLACK HOLES" - Example: "Components of GW231123 (~137 + ~103 times the mass of the Sun)" Below the categories is a stylized black curve representing the inferred population of black holes detected by LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA. It rises sharply in the "basic" range and falls off toward the "hefty" and "chonky" ranges, with a note reading: "this curve is an artistic representation of the black hole population inferred by LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA." This infographic draws from the “Chonky Cat” meme.

Heard the latest news from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration? We detected the collision of the most massive pair of black holes so far: #GW231123 weighing in at ~137 + ~103 times the mass of the Sun!

So to celebrate, here’s a handy chart ✨

Just how chonky are these black holes? 🤔

Initial sky localization. 90% area 1,000 sq deg.

Initial three-dimensional volume localization. Distance around 3.3 Gpc.

Start the weekend with #GravitationalWave candidate #S250726ak

If real, the source is probably a binary black hole (chirp mass ~22–44 solar masses)

False alarm rate 1 in 6800 yr
GraceDB gracedb.ligo.org/superevents/...
GCN gcn.nasa.gov/circulars/41...
Rating 🍊 🐣 🥐

[🧪🔭⚛️]

S250725j initial sky localization. 90% area 28 sq deg.

S250725j initial three-dimensional volume localization. Distance around 480 Mpc.

TWO overnight #GravitationalWave candidates #S250725j and #S250725l

If real, the source of #S250725j is probably a binary black hole (chirp mass ~11–22 solar masses)

False alarm rate 1 in 740 yr
GraceDB gracedb.ligo.org/superevents/...
GCN gcn.nasa.gov/circulars/41...
Rating 🐑 🍭 🌅

[🧪🔭⚛️] 🧵/1

In a starfield a nebula appears that has three main bright regions surrounding a dark central nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

🔭 Cat's Paw Nebula from Webb Space Telescope

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25072...

Alicia Sometimes and Dr Katie Mack on stage at an event. There is a screen behind them that reads “creating the universe feat. Katie Mack with Alicia Sometimes.

Looking out across a rooftop bar in Melbourne. The roof is covered and hanging are bunches of purple flowers and lights. There are people at tables eating and socialising.

Another really fun conversation — about how art and science are intertwined — at tonight’s event at the @wheelercentre.bsky.social feat. @astrokatie.com and @aliciasometimes.bsky.social

Then we went to my fav little rooftop bar for dinner post-event, and @astronerdika.bsky.social joined us too!

LIGO Detects Most Massive Black Hole Merger to Date - OzGrav Gravitational waves from record‑breaking black holes challenge current astrophysical models The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration has observed the heaviest black‑hole merger ever detected,…

GW231123: Heaviest black‑hole merger yet detected in gravitational waves.
~100 M☉ + ~140 M☉ → ~225 M☉ remnant, spins near physical limit.
“This blip forces us to rethink how very heavy, rapidly spinning black holes come to be.” – Prof Eric Thrane
Read: www.ozgrav.org/news/ligo-de...

We are excited to announce the discovery of #GW231123, a gravitational-wave signal from the merger of two high-mass black holes to form one about 190–265 times the mass of our Sun

ligo.org/ligo-virgo-k...

#O4IsHere 🔭🧪☄️

🥰

Loud? Or silent and deadly… 😂

I guess you would love to see dark energy completely dominate the Universe 💪

One day we will understand this mysterious thing. One day…

“Going to sleep” I like that. I guess the Universe deserves some Zs too 😴

Likewise!

Heat death is pretty cool (literally 🤣)

Image of a darkened lecture hall with a projected slide highlighting some of the ways our Universe could meet its end. The darkness of the room definitely matched the vibe of this lecture. There are four theories highlighted: Big Crunch, Heat Death, Big Rip or Vacuum Decay. The last one mine and Dr Katie Mack’ favourite!

Was super excited my trip back home overlapped with @astrokatie.com’s visit to Melbourne (last time I saw a talk by her was when I was in undergrad!) Caught her lecture on ‘The End of Everything’ 😱

My favourite ending of the Universe?
Same as Katie’s: vacuum decay ✨

What’s yours? 🤨

@cosmicrami.com @sarawebbscience.bsky.social @astrokirsten.bsky.social @astrokatie.com