Wednesday, August 19, 2026

The Fastest Star in the Milky Way Will Test Relativity

These panels are Very Large Telescope images of the star S301 orbiting the Milky Way's SMBH, SgrA*. S301 is the fastest moving S star ever found, and also the closest to the black hole. The star can be used to measure the black hole's spin. S301's orbit is shown with an elliptical curve. In each frame, the solid curve shows the path that the star has already completed up to that point, whereas the dashed one marks the path it will follow afterwards. Image Credit: ESO/GRAVITY collaboration

Astronomers have discovered another S star, the population of stars that orbits the Milky Way's SMBH. This one is the fastest of them all, and also comes closest to the SMBH. It will let astronomers test relativity, especially the Lense-Thirring effect.



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