Alternate Names

QZ Vulpeculae, Nova Vulpecula 1988

Type

Stellar mass

Location

in the constellation Vulpecula

Distance

8,800 light-years (2700 parsecs)

Mass

5 to 10 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter roughly 20-40 miles (32-65 km), equal to the size of a large city

Discovery Methods

• Detection of an accretion disk

This artist's concept shows the black hole devouring its companion star. Gas from the companion flows into a disk around the black hole, where it's heated to millions of degrees. Some of this hot gas squirts into space in two high-speed "jets." [NASA/ESA/Felix Mirabel]

This document was last modified: November 7, 2005.