Alternate Names

K16

Type

Stellar mass

Location

in the constellation Aquarius

Distance

16,000 light-years

Mass

16 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter roughly 60 miles (96 km)

Discovery Methods

• Detection of an accretion disk
• Measuring the motions of a companion star

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." [NASA/ESA/Felix Mirabel]

This document was last modified: November 7, 2005.