Gravitational waves reveal 1st-of-its-kind merger between neutron star and mystery object

More specifically, a signal detected in a pocket of the universe roughly 650 million light-years from Earth indicates a rare merger between a neutron star and what astronomers suspect is a surprisingly lightweight black hole.

This places the newfound object within the "mass gap," a mysterious region that separates the heaviest neutron stars from the lightest black holes.

In early 2020, astronomers announced the first conclusive detection of gravitational waves created by a collision which involved a stellar remnant right in the mass gap range.

However, the discovery team couldn't classify the object with conviction at the time, concluding it could be either the biggest known neutron star or the smallest known black hole.

As for the latest finding, astronomers say they cannot pinpoint just where in the sky the mammoth objects merged because only one LVK detector was recording data when the signal was detected.

The LIGO team anticipates observing over 200 gravitational wave signals by February 2025, including hints of a few objects within the elusive mass-gap range.