Abstract
THE 529s pulsating1,2 X-ray source 4U1538 – 52 has been found to be a 3.73d eclipsing binary system3. The most accurate orbital elements yet determined4 imply that the primary is an early type giant or supergiant star. Independent determination of the primary mass will make it possible to estimate the mass of the (assumed) neutron star secondary. Cowley et al.5 have surveyed the stars in the Uhuru19 and Ariel 54 error boxes and called attention to 10 stars consistent with the inferred properties of the primary. A precise (40″) position of 4U1538 – 52 obtained by SAS 36 includes only two of these stars5. This letter reports a HEAO-1 position measurement of precision 12″ in one dimension which clearly selects one of these two stars (number 12) as the candidate identification.
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SCHWARTZ, D., GURSKY, H., SCHWARZ, J. et al. Location of pulsating binary X-ray source 4U1538 – 52 with the HEAO-1 scanning modulation collimator. Nature 275, 517–518 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/275517a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/275517a0
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