Hercules X-1
| Hercules X-1 data | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Hercules |
| Position ( equinox : J2000.0 ) | |
| Right ascension | 16 h 57 m 50 s |
| declination | + 35 ° 20 ′ 20.6 ″ |
| X-ray source | |
| Type | Low-mass X-ray binary star , X-ray pulsar (compact, pulsed) |
| Energy area | TeV |
| Catalog names | 3U 1653 + 35, RX J1657.8 + 3520 |
| Double star system | |
| distance | 16,000 to 20,000 light years |
| Period of circulation | 1.7 days |
| Optical / stellar component: HZ Herculis | |
| Spectral class | B0Ve to F5e |
| Apparent brightness | 12.7 to 14.8 mag |
| Dimensions | approx. 2.2 solar masses |
| Compact component: Hercules X-1 Pulsar | |
| period | 1.2378 s |
| Dimensions | 0.9 ± 0.4 solar masses |
Hercules X-1 is an X-ray pulsar and one of the best-studied objects in X-ray astronomy . It is a binary star system , consisting of the variable blue giant HZ Herculis (see naming variable stars ) and a pulsar ( neutron star ). The periodicity of the X-ray emission - and thus the period of rotation of the pulsar - is 1.24 seconds, the strength of its magnetic field (i.e. the magnetic flux density ) about 4.6 · 10 8 Tesla . Furthermore, the intensity of the X-ray emission varies with a period of 35 days, which is probably due to a ( retrograde ) precession of the accretion disk . The orbital period of the binary star system is 1.7 days; Due to the coverage of the pulsar by HZ Herculis, no X-rays can be detected for 0.24 days.
The X-ray source Hercules X-1 was discovered in 1971 by means of the X-ray satellite Uhuru . It is the prototype of an X-ray binary star that also emits pulsed radiation in the gamma range above 1000 GeV . Hercules X-1 was the first X-ray pulsar, which is also in the so-called. VHE ( v ery h igh e was detected nergy) gamma region.
