This image of A0620-00 was created fromSloan Digital Sky Survey data in visible and infrared light (filters u,g,i,z) and spans roughly 8 arcminutes.
A0620-00 has undergone twoX-ray outbreaks. The first one was in 1917.[12] The second burst, in 1975, was detected by theAriel 5 satellite.[13] During that time, A0620-00 was the brightest X-ray point source.[8] It is now classified as anX-ray nova.[8] Its black hole nature was determined in 1986.[8]
The black hole in A0620-00 pulls matter from the K-type star into anaccretion disk.[5] The accretion disk emits significant amounts of visible light and X-rays. Because the K-type star has been pulled into anellipsoidal shape, the amount of surface area visible, and thus the apparent brightness, changes from the Earth's perspective. A0620-00 also bears thevariable star designationV616 Monocerotis.[7]
On 15 June 2018, a signal was transmitted from theEuropean Space Agency big radio antenna atCebreros Station (77 kilometers west of Madrid, Spain), in memory ofStephen Hawking, who died on 14 March 2018, and his work on the physics of black holes. The broadcast will travel the 3,457-light-year distance at thespeed of light and will arrive in the year 5475; this will be the first-ever human interaction with a currently known black hole.[14] 1A 0620-00 was chosen for this broadcast as it was the closest known black hole to Earth at the time.[15]The message was one of peace and hope according to his family.
^abcdeCantrell, Andrew G.; Bailyn, Charles D.; Orosz, Jerome A.; McClintock, Jeffrey E.; Remillard, Ronald A.; Froning, Cynthia S.; Neilsen, Joseph; Gelino, Dawn M.; Gou, Lijun (2010). "The Inclination of the Soft X-Ray Transient A0620-00 and the Mass of its Black Hole".The Astrophysical Journal.710 (2):1127–1141.arXiv:1001.0261.Bibcode:2010ApJ...710.1127C.doi:10.1088/0004-637X/710/2/1127.S2CID33906909.
^abcdefZheng, Wan-Min; Wu, Qiaoya; Wu, Jianfeng; Wang, Song; Sun, Mouyuan; Guo, Jing; Liu, Junhui; Yi, Tuan; Zhang, Zhi-Xiang; Gu, Wei-Min; Wang, Junfeng; Gou, Lijun; Liu, Jifeng; Callanan, Paul J.; Ho, Luis C.; Longa-Peña, Penélope; Orosz, Jerome A.; Reynolds, Mark T. (2022), "The Disk Veiling Effect of the Black Hole Low-mass X-Ray Binary A0620-00",The Astrophysical Journal,925 (1): 83,arXiv:2112.07842,Bibcode:2022ApJ...925...83Z,doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac4332,S2CID245144462
^abSamus, N. N.; Durlevich, O. V.; et al. (2009). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+ 2007-2013)".VizieR On-line Data Catalog: B/GCVS. Originally Published in: 2009yCat....102025S.1.Bibcode:2009yCat....102025S.
^abcVan Grunsven, Theo F. J.; Jonker, Peter G.; Verbunt, Frank W. M.; Robinson, Edward L. (2017), "The mass of the black hole in 1A 0620-00, revisiting the ellipsoidal light curve modelling",Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,472 (2): 1907,arXiv:1708.08209,Bibcode:2017MNRAS.472.1907V,doi:10.1093/mnras/stx2071
^Elvis, M.; Page, C. G.; Pounds, K. A.; Ricketts, M. J.; Turner, M. J. L. (1975). "Discovery of powerful transient X-ray source A0620-00 with Ariel V Sky Survey Experiment".Nature.257 (5528):656–657.Bibcode:1975Natur.257..656E.doi:10.1038/257656a0.S2CID4160399.
