{
  "id": 2227237,
  "title": "The Galaxy’s Fastest Star Could Reveal the Secrets of a Supermassive Black Hole",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/the-galaxys-fastest-star-could-reveal-the-secrets-of-a-supermassive-2227237",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-20T20:58:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Wired Science",
    "slug": "wired-science",
    "url": "https://www.wired.com/story/the-galaxys-fastest-star-could-reveal-the-secrets-of-a-supermassive-black-hole/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "S301, the fastest star in the galaxy, whizzes around Sagittarius A* at 25,000 kilometers per second, making an 8.7-year orbit. That's over 100 times faster than the Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way, and it reaches nearly 8 percent of light speed. The key to S301's speed is its proximity to the supermassive black hole. At its closest approach, the star zips by at a distance similar to that between Saturn and the Sun. The intense gravity of Sagittarius A* accelerates S301 as it draws near, then decelerates as it recedes, creating an elongated orbit similar to some comets, like Halley's. S301 is the star with the highest orbital velocity in our galaxy and the one that comes closest to Sagittarius A*. Likely, it was once part of a binary pair that was torn apart by the black hole's tidal forces, leaving S301 trapped and its companion flung away at high speed. Astronomers believe they'll be able to determine Sagittarius A*'s spin within 10 years, which would be a first. The black hole's mass and spin are crucial properties for describing it astrophysically.",
  "summary": "S301 passes close to Sagittarius A*—so close that its orbit could reveal how the black hole’s rotation warps the spacetime around it.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Wired",
        "title": "The Galaxy’s Fastest Star Could Reveal the Secrets of a Supermassive Black Hole",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/the-galaxys-fastest-star-could-reveal-the-secrets-of-a-supermassive",
        "published": "2026-08-20T20:58:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}