Alternate Names

Cygnus XR-1

Type

Stellar mass

Location

In the constellation Cygnus

Finder Chart

Distance

6,000 to 10,000 light-years

Mass

5 to 10 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter 20-40 miles (30-60 km), equal to the size of a large American city

Discovery Methods

• Measuring the motions of gas

1

Data from orbiting X-ray observatories show how the gravitational field of the Cygnus X-1 black hole accelerates gas around it. [NASA/CXC/M.Weiss/SAO/J.Miller et al.]

This document was last modified: November 7, 2005.