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Neutron star

Scorpius X-1

Also Sco X-1 · V818 Scorpii

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A neutron star pulling gas from a companion star; after the Sun, it is the brightest steady X-ray source in the sky.

Measured

Distance
about 7,590 light-years (published estimates 7,221–8,000)
Constellation
Scorpius
Position (J2000)
RA 16h 19m 55s, Dec −15.64°

How far, from the Sun

About 7,590 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light7,590 years
  • Voyager 1's speed135 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h81.9 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • It was the first X-ray source found outside the Solar System, in 1962.
  • Its distance comes from a Gaia parallax: the tiny yearly shift in its position as the Earth circles the Sun.

Where this comes from

  • Gaia DR3 parallax 0.4297 ± 0.0220 mas, Gaia DR3 4328198145165324800 (Gaia Collaboration 2023, A&A 674, A1)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.