This Star Orbits Our Galaxy's Heart at a Record-Breaking Speed—and Could Help Uncover Secrets About the Behemoth Black Hole There
The speedster travels at up to 56 million miles per hour, or about 8 percent the speed of light. It also gets very close to the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way
At the Milky Way's core, 27,000 light-years away lies the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, long suspected to spin but never confirmed until now. Astronomers discovered a fast-moving star, S301, orbiting the black hole and revealed it to be the fastest in the galaxy, hurtling at 56 million miles per hour. S301's proximity to Sagittarius A* allows scientists to measure its spin directly for the first time, thanks to Einstein's theory of relativity.
The star's elongated orbit brings it within 12 times the distance between Earth and the sun to the black hole every 8.7 years. By observing how S301's orbit changes as it passes the black hole, researchers could determine the black hole's spin within a decade. This discovery could validate Einstein's theory and deepen our understanding of the Milky Way's history.
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