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Telescope spies the fastest star in the Milky Way zipping around a black hole
The star’s 8.7-year orbit could help scientists measure the black hole’s spin and test relativity in extreme gravity, researchers said.
- On Wednesday, researchers published in the journal Nature the discovery of S301, the fastest known star orbiting the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A* , traveling at speeds up to 56 million miles per hour.
- The GRAVITY+ collaboration discovered the faint star using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer in Chile, with upgraded sensitivity boosted by a factor of 10 to 100 to detect objects 4 billion times fainter than visible stars.
- S301 completes an orbit every 8.7 years, passing within about 12 astronomical units of the black hole—roughly Saturn's distance from the sun—making it 10 times closer than the previous record holder, S2.
- The star's extreme proximity allows astronomers to measure Sgr A*'s spin for the first time, with study co-author Felix Mang stating this enables a direct test of Einstein's general theory of relativity.
- Researchers anticipate measuring Sgr A*'s spin within the next decade as the star's orbit shifts due to the Lense-Thirring effect, while astrophysicist Stefan Gillessen confirmed the star faces no danger: "Its orbit will not decay anytime soon.
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Fastest-known star zooms under Milky Way black hole’s influence
WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Scientists have detected the fastest-known star, a stellar speedster that is zooming around the supermassive black hole residing at the center of our galaxy and might hold the key to measuring the spin of this celestial b...
At a speed of 25,000 kilometers per second, the star S301 moves in the center of the Milky Way. It is thus the fastest star ever discovered in our galaxy. It makes possible a gigantic object around which it orbits.
Associated Press News+7 Reposted by 7 other sources
Telescope spies the fastest star in the Milky Way zipping around a black hole
A telescope has spotted the fastest known star in the Milky Way. It's zipping around the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.
·New York, United States
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Total News Sources25
Leaning Left8Leaning Right1Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution53% Center
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources are Center
53% Center
L 42%
C 53%
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