The researchers said they detected gravitational waves that washed over Earth after two distant black holes spiralled toward each other and merged into a single, larger abyss 1.4 billion years ago. The black holes that triggered the newly detected gravitational waves were eight and 14 times more massive thanthe sun, respectively, before merging into a single, spinning black hole about 21 times more massive than the sun. These gravitational waves were observed by twin observatories in the United States late on Dec. 25, 2015 (earlyon Dec. 26 GMT). Scientists can use the timing difference to calculate a rough idea of where the black holes merger occurred. The first detection of gravitational waves was made in September and announced on Feb. 11.

Source: CBC News June 15, 2016 17:48 UTC