Cygnus X-1 Binary star system images?

BoJangles · Feb 3, 2009

I'm looking for a hires image of the Cygnus X-1 star system and can’t seem to find one on Google images. So I just thought I’d ask here as some of you might have better resources.Google has a million artist impressions of this phenomena but very few actual images. Apparently it’s easily seen with a telescope, so you’d think Hubble would have some great pictures of it in various wave lengths.---I'm interesting in this because of it’s the leading example of a Stella black hole. I was shocked to discover after reading an article, that Stella black holes have no observational evidence to support them, and really on theory combined with xray emissions to infer them. Obviously you can’t see a black hole, but I thought surely with its configuration (as showing in all the artists impressions) it would be easily identifiable.This was quite astounding considering the proper motion of this star system should be identifiable, or would it?Anyone with any thoughts on this, or pictures?  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> -------------- Let me start out with the standard disclaimer ... I am an idiot, I know almost nothing, I haven’t taken calculus, I don’t work for NASA, and I am one-quarter Bulgarian sheep dog. With that out of the way, I have several stupid questions... *** A few months blogging can save a few hours in research *** </div>

origin · Feb 4, 2009

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I'm interesting in this because of it’s the leading example of a Stella black hole. I was shocked to discover after reading an article, that Stella black holes have no observational evidence to support them, and really on theory combined with xray emissions to infer them. Posted by BoJangles</DIV> I wouldn't say there is no observational evidence, unless you mean there is no photograph of the black hole.  Cygnus X-1 was found because of the x-rays that are being emitted.  It was observed that the star was locked in an orbit with an unseen companion.  The orbit indicated that the mass of the unseen object was about 7 times the mass of the sun therefore it must be a black hole.edited because people may not know what a clack hole is... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

BoJangles · Feb 4, 2009

Ahh i see, though i actually was under the impression that it could be seen from normal amature telescopes (Both objects), which was why i was so interested in it, i must have read it wrong, ill do some more research i think.Thanks again origin <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> -------------- Let me start out with the standard disclaimer ... I am an idiot, I know almost nothing, I haven’t taken calculus, I don’t work for NASA, and I am one-quarter Bulgarian sheep dog. With that out of the way, I have several stupid questions... *** A few months blogging can save a few hours in research *** </div>

SpaceTas · Jun 24, 2009

There are no real pictures of accretion disks (like all those artist impressions), the objects are all too far away. There is a technique for mapping disks in systems where the star eclipses the disk. There are images of Cygnus X-1 showing it as a star among many. It is a fairly bright object.

Cygnus X-1 may be the proto-type, but it is not the firmest mass measurement.

The x-rays come from the heated inner disk, close to the black hole. The x-rays act as easy way of searching for black hole candidates. But then a mass measurement must be made, because accreting white dwarfs and neutron stars also emit x-rays. The mass of the black hole is calculated form measuring the orbit of the star. This is done using shifts in the spectral lines caused by the star moving toward/away from us it orbits. Similar Doppler shifts are heard as changes in the pitch of car /train horns as the car moves toward and the away from you. You also need the mass of the star. This has to be estimated by comparing it to other stars of known mass.

The problem with this method is that you don't know tilt of the orbit and so the mass you derive from the observations is an lower limit. There are methods for estimating the tilt. The mass of the black hole in Cygnus x-1 is just over the theoretical upper limit of a neutron star, around 3 Solar masses. There are black holes with measured masses of 14 solar masses. This is well over varous limits to non black hole objects

So there is very good evidence for stellar mass black holes. Also there is a class of million solar mass black holes in the ceters of galaxies

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Cygnus X-1 Binary star system images?

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