Alternate Names

Nova Scorpii 1994

Type

Stellar mass

Location

In the constellation Scorpius

Finder Chart

Distance

6,000 to 10,000 light-years

Mass

7 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Roughly 25 miles (42 km)

Discovery Methods

• Detection of an accretion disk

GRO J1655-40

This artist's concept shows the black hole devouring its companion star. Gas from the companion flows into a disk around the black hole, where it's heated to millions of degrees. Some of this hot gas squirts into space in two high-speed "jets."

This document was last modified: February 12, 2012.