Type

Stellar mass

Location

In the galaxy NGC 300, in the constellation Sculptor

Distance

6 million light-years (1.85 megaparsecs)

Mass

15 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter about 45 miles (75 km) roughly equal to the size of a large county

Discovery Methods

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

A close-up of the region of NGC 300 that contains the black hole system. NGC 300 X-1 looks like a small blue star at the center of the image. [ESO/P. Crowther]

This document was last modified: January 13, 2011.