The shortest known period star orbiting our Galaxy´s supermassive black hole

SO-102 revolves around the Milky Way´s supermassive black hole in 11,5 years. The star may help test the laws of gravity under extreme conditions and understand the role supermassive black holes play in the center of galaxies

 

Star closest to centre of Milky Way
05/10/2012

Nearest stars' orbits to Sagittarius A*. Image created by Prof. Andrea Ghez and her research group in UCLA, from data obtained by W. M. Keck telescopes.

 

Reference: 

L. Meyer et al. The shortest known period star orbiting our Galaxy´s supermassive black hole. Science.

Press release: 
Contact: 

Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC)
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