Alternate Names

GW Circini

Type

Stellar mass

Location

in the constellation Circinus, the compasses

Distance

85,000 light-years (25 kiloparsecs)

Mass

8 to 10 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter roughly 30-40 miles (50-65 km), equal to the size of a large city

Discovery Methods

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

An illustration shows hot gas from a low-mass companion star (right) flowing into an accretion disk around the black hole. [ESO/L. Calçada]

This document was last modified: January 13, 2011.