title: Distribution and variability of cosmic x-ray sources.
abstract: At least 30 discrete cosmic x-ray sources have been detected thus far. The distribution is concentrated toward the galactic plane, and most of the sources are believed to lie within 2 kiloparsecs of the sun. It is estimated that the average luminosity of the observed sources is about 5 x 10(36) ergs per second and that the entire galaxy contains about 1250 such sources. Comparisons of fluxes observed over the course of the past 2 years reveal that many sources are highly variable.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Byram
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Chubb