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LMC X-1 ❍｜Definition｜1st｜20260912203812-00-⌔

LMC X-1 - Wikipedia

LMC X-1

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LMC X-1 is the first X-ray source detected in the Large Magellanic Cloud.[^4] It was discovered in 1969, using data from an instrument carried by a Sandia Terrier - Sandhawk sounding rocket, launched from the Johnston Atoll on October 29, 1968.12 LMC X-1 is a persistently luminous X-ray binary.[

In the 80s Hutchings et al. performed spectroscopic follow-up observations of the optical counterpart and found an orbital period of about 4 days and a secondary mass of about 6 M, making the secondary a stellar mass black hole.34 The orbital period later turned out to be shorter at around 3.9 days.5 The optical counterpart is also called “star 32”. The black hole has a mass of around 11 M and the star has a mass of around 32 M and a radius of 17 R. With this radius the star nearly fills its Roche lobe and it is predicted that it will encounter its Roche lobe in a few hundred thousand years. Once it reaches its Roche lobe, it will begin rapid and possibly unstable mass transfer to its companion.[

The X-ray source is surrounded by a nebula, which is the only nebula energized by an X-ray binary. It is suspected that the nebula is a bow shock nebula. The nebula is also detected in radio wavelengths with ATCA imaging. A possible origin of LMC X-1 is the star cluster [NKN2005] N159-O1. Other possible origins are NGC 2077, NGC 2080, NGC 2085 and NGC 2086. In the scenario of N159-O1 being the origin, the progenitor to the black hole would have a mass of about 60 M, meaning it was the most massive member of this star cluster.[

Printed 2026-09-12.

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Footnotes

  1. Mark, Hans; Price, R.; Rodrigues, R.; Seward, F. D.; Swift, C. D. (1969-03-01). “Detection of X-Rays from the Large Magellanic Cloud”. The Astrophysical Journal. 155: L143. Bibcode:1969ApJ…155L.143M. doi:10.1086/180322. ISSN 0004-637X. ↩

  2. “Johnston Island”. Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum. Retrieved 2024-07-24. ↩

  3. Hutchings, J. B.; Crampton, D.; Cowley, A. P. (1983-12-01). “A spectrographic orbit for LMC X-1: another massive X-ray source?”. The Astrophysical Journal. 275: L43–L47. Bibcode:1983ApJ…275L..43H. doi:10.1086/184168. ISSN 0004-637X. ↩

  4. Hutchings, J. B.; Crampton, D.; Cowley, A. P.; Bianchi, L.; Thompson, I. B. (1987-08-01). “Optical and UV Spectroscopy of the Black Hole Binary Candidate LMC X-1”. The Astronomical Journal. 94: 340. Bibcode:1987AJ…94..340H. doi:10.1086/114475. ISSN 0004-6256. ↩

  5. Levine, Alan M.; Corbet, Robin (9 Nov 2006). “ATel #940: Detection of Additional Periodicities in RXTE ASM Light Curves”. The Astronomer’s Telegram. 940: 1. Bibcode:2006ATel..940…1L. Retrieved 2024-05-04. ↩

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LMC X-1 ❍｜SIMBAD｜1st｜20260912213643-00-●

LMC X-1 (Retrieved 2026-09-12.)
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