Cygnus X-1

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/cygnus-x-1

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Cygnus X-1?1964
2. How heavy is Cygnus X-1?Estimated at 21.2 solar masses
3. What is the location?Constellation Cygnus
4. What is the distance from earth?Approximately 7,000 light-years
5. Why does Cygnus X-1 make X-rays?The blue supergiant star sends gas into space. The gas falls into the black hole, heats up, and glows with X‑rays.
6. How close is Cygnus X-1 to its companion star?The two objects orbit each other only about 0.2 astronomical units apart, which is very close for stars.

Galactic X-ray Source: An astronomical object within our galaxy that emits significant amounts of X-ray radiation.
High-Mass X-ray Binary (HMXB): A binary system comprising a massive star and a compact object (neutron star or black hole) that emits X-rays.
Accretion Disk: A structure formed by diffuse material in orbital motion around a massive central body, such as a star or black hole.
Relativistic Jets: Collimated streams of ionized matter ejected at speeds approaching the speed of light from the vicinity of a massive object.