A group of Manitoba researchers were involved behind the scenes of an international effort that this week revealed the first documented case of two massive black holes merging — happily, billions of light years from Earth.

An international team of physicists discovered the largest-ever merger of 2 black holes through a phenomenon known as gravitational waves.

The most massive black hole merger to date was detected at a Washington state observatory, producing a black hole about 225 times the mass of the sun.