Alternate Names

Nova Velorum 1993

Type

Stellar mass

Location

in the constellation Vela

Distance

13,000 light-years

Mass

8 to 9 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter roughly equal to a large city

Discovery Methods

• Detection of an accretion disk

GRS 1009-45

An artist's concept depicts the type of binary system that creates an X-ray nova. The black hole is at right, encircled by a disk of superhot gas and squirting jets of particles into space from its poles. The nova outburst occurred when the disk became unstable and produced a large explosion. [ESA]

This document was last modified: February 12, 2012.