APOD: 2026 August 21 – Time-Lapse of the Star S301 Orbiting the Black Hole in the Center of the Galaxy
The post APOD: 2026 August 21 – Time-Lapse of the Star S301 Orbiting the Black Hole in the Center of the Galaxy appeared first on NASA Science .
On August 21, 2026, NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day showcased an animation depicting a four-year time-lapse of the star S301 orbiting the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy, Sagittarius A*. Discovered in 2023 using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer in Chile's Atacama Desert, S301 is a stellar gem that completes its orbit around the black hole in approximately 8.7 years.
As it circles this colossal cosmic entity, S301 zips along at an astonishing speed of 25,000 km/s. This star boasts the distinction of coming closest to Sagittarius A* compared to any other star observed thus far, with its proximity akin to the distance between Saturn and our Sun. The star's close orbit around the black hole presents an invaluable opportunity to directly measure the spinning black hole's rotational speed, thus testing Einstein's theory of general relativity.
According to this groundbreaking theory, a spinning black hole warps the fabric of spacetime around it, gradually influencing the paths of nearby celestial bodies.
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