LMC X-3
Location of LMC X-3 from ESASky (pointed in red). | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Dorado |
| Right ascension | 05h 38m 56s |
| Declination | −64° 05′ 03″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 16.7 |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | Main-sequence (A) Black hole (B) |
| Spectral type | BH + B2.5Ve |
| Astrometry | |
| Distance | 165,000 ly (50,589 pc) |
| Orbit | |
| Primary | main-sequence star |
| Name | black hole |
| Period (P) | 1.70481 days |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 11000000 km |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.22 ± 0.4 |
| Inclination (i) | 69.8° ± 0.84° |
| Semi-amplitude (K2) (secondary) | 256.7 ± 4.9 km/s |
| Details | |
| A | |
| Mass | 3.63 ± 0.57 M☉ |
| Radius | 4.4 R☉ |
| B | |
| Mass | 6.98 ± 0.56 M☉ |
| Other designations | |
| LMC X-3, RX J0538.9-6405, 2MAXI J0539-640, 2XMM J053856.5-640503, Gaia DR3 4757068874690668160 | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
LMC X-3 is a high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) system located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way approximately 165,000 light-years (50.5 kiloparsecs) away. The system consists of a stellar-mass black hole accreting material from a B-type main-sequence companion star, producing intense X-ray emission via a hot accretion disk. LMC X-3 is one of the most studied extragalactic black hole binaries due to its brightness and variability.