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The x-ray sky observed by the HEAO-1 satellite (1980)

Cygnus X-1 (black hole)

The mass of the black hole in Cygnus-X1 has been measured to be 14.8 ± 1.0 solar masses (Orosz et al. 2011 “The Mass of the Black Hole in Cygnus X-1”).
Its spin parameter, greater than 0.97, is near maximal (Guo et al. 2011 “The Extreme Spin of the Black Hole in Cygnus X-1”).
X-ray
Optical

Hercules X-1 (neutron star)



The microquasar (x-ray binary with jets) XTE J1550-564


 Black Hole silhouetted against the Milky Way Fall 2011 ASTR 2030 Homepage

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Updated 2011 Oct 20