Fastest Star Found Orbiting Milky Way's Black Hole

Astronomers have discovered the fastest known star in the Milky Way, orbiting the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at the galaxy's center. The star, named S301, reaches speeds of 25,000 kilometers per second (about 8% of the speed of light) and completes an orbit in just 8.7 years, making it the closest-orbiting star ever observed Source: Wired. Its extreme velocity is due to the black hole's immense gravity, which accelerates the star as it passes at a distance comparable to Saturn's orbit around the sun Source: Wired.

Discovery and significance

The findings, published in the journal Nature, were based on data from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile Source: AP News. The star's orbit is highly eccentric, bringing it closer to the black hole than any previously known star, which could enable the first measurements of the black hole's spin Source: Ars Technica. Scientists have mapped about 50 of the several hundred stars orbiting Sagittarius A*, and S301 is 10 times closer than the previous record holder Source: AP News.

Origin and future research

Researchers believe S301 likely originated as part of a binary star system that was torn apart by the black hole's tidal forces, with the companion star being ejected from the galaxy Source: Wired. Within the next decade, astronomers hope to determine the rotation of Sagittarius A*, a fundamental property that remains unknown Source: Wired. The discovery suggests that even faster stars may exist, as advanced telescopes reveal fainter objects Source: AP News.