Type

Stellar mass

Location

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

Distance

165,000 light-years

Mass

5 to 13 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter roughly equal to the size of a city

Discovery Methods

• Detection of an accretion disk

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. [NASA/GSFC/Tim Jones]

This document was last modified: September 17, 2010.