Type

Stellar mass

Location

in the constellation Aquila

Distance

8,100 light-years (2500 parsecs)

Mass

14 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter roughly 50 miles (85 km) equal to the size of a large city

Discovery Methods

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

A series of illustrations shows material in the inner part of the accretion disk around GRS 1915+105 being pushed away from the black hole and getting hotter and hotter in the process. When it gets hot enough, the inner disk disintegrates and plunges into the black hole (lower right). After the eruption, material from the outer part of the disk funnels toward the black hole, beginning the process all over again. [NASA/CXC/M.Weiss]

This document was last modified: June 10, 2011.