Manitoba researchers helped discover a massive black hole merger

Manitoba researchers contributed to the discovery of the most massive black hole merger ever detected, billions of light-years away. The international team, including University of Manitoba astrophysicists, observed the merger of two black holes. The event, detected in November 2023, revealed the black holes were spinning at near-maximum theoretical speeds. The research was part of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA program. The findings were published this week, adding to our understanding of extreme astrophysics.