{"id":53229,"date":"2026-10-28T18:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T22:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=53229"},"modified":"2026-10-27T08:03:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T12:03:20","slug":"scientists-detected-one-of-the-heaviest-black-hole-collisions-weighing-about-230-times-the-suns-mass-and-now-they-suspect-warped-spacetime-may-have-been-playing-tricks-on-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/scientists-detected-one-of-the-heaviest-black-hole-collisions-weighing-about-230-times-the-suns-mass-and-now-they-suspect-warped-spacetime-may-have-been-playing-tricks-on-them\/53229\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists detected one of the heaviest black hole collisions, weighing about 230 times the sun\u2019s mass, and now they suspect warped spacetime may have been playing tricks on them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the heaviest <\/a>black hole collisions<\/a> detected through gravitational waves may have looked bigger than it really was. Researchers propose that warped spacetime amplified and distorted its signal, potentially reducing the pair\u2019s estimated combined mass from about 230 times the sun\u2019s mass to around 140.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event, called <\/a>GW231123<\/a>, remains a real cosmic collision. What is being questioned is how scientists interpreted its brief message, and an August 2026 study from researchers associated with the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics offers a possible explanation. Even if lensing occurred, some of the mystery would remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tenth of a second<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On November 23, 2023, the two U.S. LIGO observatories recorded a gravitational-wave signal lasting roughly one-tenth of a second. That date marks its arrival at Earth, after a journey across space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original analysis estimated that the two black holes contained about 137 and 103 times the sun\u2019s mass. Allowing for uncertainty, their combined mass fell between 190 and 265 solar masses, and both appeared to spin unusually fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those figures came from comparing the observed signal with computer models of merging black holes. Scientists were reconstructing an event from the tiny stretches and squeezes it produced in spacetime, which makes the accuracy of those models essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the masses were puzzling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The difficulty centers on the \u201cpair-instability mass gap<\/a>,\u201d often placed at roughly 60 to 130 solar masses. Standard stellar models predict that certain massive stars either shed substantial material or explode completely, making it difficult to leave black holes in that range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But \u201cimpossible\u201d needs some perspective. A black hole could grow through earlier mergers, so the gap concerns a particular formation route rather than an absolute ban on objects of those masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also applies to each black hole individually. Adding two masses together and comparing their total with the gap can therefore give readers the wrong impression about whether the problem has been solved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cosmic magnifying glass<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What could change the apparent size of something so enormous? According to <\/a>Einstein\u2019s general relativity<\/a>, matter curves spacetime, bending the paths that signals follow through the universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Astronomers already observe gravitational lensing in light, where foreground objects can <\/a>magnify distant galaxies<\/a> or produce multiple images. Gravitational waves can also follow different paths around a massive object and reach Earth with altered amplitudes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smaller lenses can introduce interference, creating recognizable patterns as different contributions to the wave overlap. Think of ripples crossing on a pond, where some crests reinforce one another and others cancel out. These patterns offer clues about what a signal encountered on its journey.<\/p>\n\n\n

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