Centaurus X-3 - History

History

Centaurus X-3 was first observed during experiments of cosmic X-ray sources made on May 18, 1967. These initial X-ray spectrum and location measurements were performed using a sounding rocket. In 1971, further observations were performed with the Uhuru satellite, in the form of twenty-seven 100-second duration sightings. These sightings were found to pulsate with an average period of 4.84 seconds, with a variation in the period of 0.02 seconds. Later, it became clear that the period variations followed a 2.09 day sinusoidal curve around the 4.84 second period. These variations in arrival time of the pulses were attributed to the Doppler effect caused by orbital motion of the source, and were therefore evidence for the binary nature of Centaurus X-3.

Despite detailed data from the Uhuru satellite as to the orbital period of the binary, and the pulsation period in the X-ray band as well as the minimum mass of the occulting star, the optical component remained undiscovered for three years. This was partly because Cen X-3 lies in the plane of the Galaxy in the direction of the Carina Spiral Arm, and so observations were forced to differentiate among dozens of faint objects. Centaurus X-3 was finally identified with a faint, heavily reddened variable star lying just outside the error box predicted by Uhuru observations. The visible star was later named after its discoverer, Poland astronomer Wojtek Krzemiński.