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Key Information

GRO J1655-40

Type Microquasar
Diameter 2,243,526 (main star), 23 miles (black hole)
Distance About 11,000 light years
Mass 2.4 M☉ (main star), 6.3 M☉ (black hole)
Temperature 11,366 °F (main star), 1 million °F (black hole accretion disk)
Date of Discovery 1994

Learning Point

  • As a black hole that is slowly consuming its companion star, GRO J1655-40 is also described as a microquasar, a small example of the massive quasars we find at the centre of some galaxies. It is eating the nearby star, as well as travelling through space far faster than most star systems do.

Project

  • What is the range of weights a regular black hole can have?
  • Overview
  • Artist Impression
GRO J1655-40
Artist's Impression of GRO J1655-40
NASA/CXC/A.Hobart, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Location

Located in Scorpius, in the Milky Way

Fun Facts

  • It may be anywhere from 5,500 to 11,000 light years away from us.
  • It is travelling at over 250,000 miles per hour,more than five times faster than the average star system.
  • This might be because of the supernova that created the black hole.

Past Lessons

73 December 11, 2023 (North America)
No Past Lessons

Upcoming Lessons

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