Scientists have detected the most massive black hole collision ever recorded, involving two black holes—approximately 100 M☉ and 140 M☉—merging to form a 240-solar-mass black hole. The landmark event was captured by the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA (LVK) collaboration; Indian researchers from LIGO‑India, including Archana Pai, Koustav Chandra, and M. K. Haris, played pivotal roles in identifying and analysing the signal.

The merged black holes are unusually heavy—well beyond the so-called “pair-instability gap,” where stars cannot typically collapse to such masses. This suggests a hierarchical formation: smaller black holes merging multiple times before coalescing into this enormous entity.

Equally intriguing is their rapid spin—up to 600,000 times Earth's rotation speed—posing a challenge for existing gravitational-wave models. Both international and Indian teams emphasise the signal's complexity and the need for advanced theoretical frameworks.