High Mass X-ray Binaries: Beacons in a Stormy Universe

Douglas R Gies1

  • 1Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5060, Atlanta, GA 30302-5060, USA, gies@chara.gsu.edu.

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. International Astronomical Union
|April 30, 2019
PubMed
Abstract

Related Concept Videos

Binary Fission01:26

Binary Fission

Binary fission is the primary mode of asexual reproduction in prokaryotes, such as bacteria. It results in the production of two genetically identical daughter cells. This highly efficient process ensures the rapid propagation of bacterial populations under favorable conditions and involves coordinated cellular and molecular events.DNA Replication and SeparationThe process begins with the replication of the bacterial chromosome. The circular DNA molecule unwinds at a specific origin of...
2.6K
Binary Fission01:20

Binary Fission

Fission is the division of a single entity into two or more parts, which regenerate into separate entities that resemble the original. Organisms in the Archaea and Bacteria domains reproduce using binary fission, in which a parent cell splits into two parts that can each grow to the size of the original parent cell. This asexual method of reproduction produces cells that are all genetically identical.
63.0K
X-ray Crystallography02:18

X-ray Crystallography

The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
25.9K
X-ray Imaging01:24

X-ray Imaging

German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923) was experimenting with electrical current when he discovered that a mysterious and invisible "ray" would pass through his flesh but leave an outline of his bones on a screen coated with a metal compound. In 1895, Röntgen made the first durable record of the internal parts of a living human: an "X-ray" image (as it came to be called) of his wife’s hand. Scientists worldwide quickly began their own experiments with...
10.0K
Atomic Mass01:52

Atomic Mass

Atoms — and the protons, neutrons, and electrons that compose them — are extremely small. For example, a carbon atom weighs less than 2 × 10−23 g. When describing the properties of tiny objects such as atoms, we use appropriately small units of measure, such as the atomic mass unit (amu). The amu was originally defined based on hydrogen, the lightest element, then later in terms of oxygen. Since 1961, it has been defined with regard to the most abundant isotope of carbon, atoms of which...
69.9K
Molar Mass01:54

Molar Mass

The identity of a substance is defined not only by the types of atoms or ions it contains but by the quantity of each type of atom or ion. For example, water, H2O, and hydrogen peroxide, H2O2, are alike in that their respective molecules are composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. However, because a hydrogen peroxide molecule contains two oxygen atoms, as opposed to the water molecule, which has only one, the two substances exhibit very different properties.
86.3K