This is a popular summer question no doubt...

Now that Cygnus is getting higher in the evening skies, I was going to
have my first look at the star HD 226868 which is the visible blue
supergiant being pulled apart by its invisible 'suspected' black hole
binary companion. This is the scenario I read a few years back, does
the latest thinking and research (post-Hubble Space Telescope
findings) still support the view that this star and its associated
x-ray emmissions are a strong candidate for a possible black hole?

Further, if the black hole *is* continually sucking material out of
the (visible) blue supergiant star, has any notable dimming of the
star been noted since discovery of the system a few decades back? I
assume a significant loss of star-mass would give rise to a measurable
reduction in intrinsic luminosity... is this a fair assumption over a
comparatively short space of time in the star's overall life span?

BTW - if anyone wants to have a look for this star, I’ve spotted
a finder chart he-
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/aug1/V1674_Cyg.html

AAI
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