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Closest Star to Milky Way’s Black Hole Discovered
Developing
In Short: Scientists have identified a new star, S301, that comes closer to the Milky Way's central black hole than any previously known star.
Researchers recently discovered a star, S301, that is on an extremely eccentric orbit, bringing it closer to the Milky Way's central black hole, Sgr A*, than any other star we have identified.
In 2023, the star was observed moving away from the black hole, providing evidence of its close approach earlier that year.
The best orbital model indicates that S301 takes only 8.7 years to complete its orbit, significantly shorter than any other star in the vicinity.
This discovery offers new insights into the dynamics of stars near the central black hole and could help scientists better understand the behavior of matter in extreme gravitational fields.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- In Wednesday’s issue of Nature, researchers describe a recently discovered star that is on an extremely eccentric orbit that takes it closer to Sgr A* than anything we’ve previously identified.
- In 2023, this allowed them to spot a star moving away from the black hole, which they termed S301.
- This orbit suggested that, early in 2023, it had its closest approach to the black hole, one that took it closer than any star we had previously identified.
- The best orbital model suggests that this star takes only 8.7 years to complete an orbit, more than three years less than any other star in the area.
Sources
- Ars Technicalink