XTE J1650−500
XTE J1650−500 is a binary system containing a stellar-mass black hole candidate and 2000–2001 transient binary X-ray source located in the constellation Ara. In 2008, it was claimed that this black hole had a mass of 3.8±0.5 solar masses,1 which would have been the smallest found for any black hole; smaller than GRO 1655−40, the then known smallest of 6.3 M.2 However, this claim was subsequently retracted;[^3] the more likely mass is 5–10 solar masses.
The binary period of the black hole and its companion is 0.32 days.3
Printed 2026-09-12.
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Footnotes
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Thompson, Andrea (1 April 2008). “Smallest, lightest black hole ever is identified”. NBC News. ↩
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Thompson, Andrea (1 April 2008). “Smallest Black Hole Found”. Space.com. ↩
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Orosz, Jerome A.; McClintock, Jeffrey E.; Remillard, Ronald A.; Corbel, Stephane (20 November 2004). “Orbital Parameters for the Black Hole Binary XTE J1650−500”. The Astrophysical Journal. 616 (1): 376–382. arXiv:astro-ph/0404343. Bibcode:2004ApJ…616..376O. doi:10.1086/424892. ISSN 0004-637X. ↩