Type

Location

in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a companion galaxy to the Milky Way; in the constellation Dorado

5 to 13 times the mass of the Sun

Diameter roughly equal to the size of a city

A telescopic view of the Large Magellanic Cloud.

LMC X-3 is a dark companion to the bright star at the center of this image.

A view of the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is about 165,000 light-years away.

This plot shows how the X-ray brightness of LMC X-3 varies over time. The quick changes show that the object must be small and compact.

This document was last modified: December 29, 2010.