Astronomers Detect The Fastest Star Ever Seen, Traveling at 15,500 Miles Per SECOND
"This is unprecedented."
“`html
Astronomers have identified a star moving at unprecedented speeds near the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The object, designated S301, reaches velocities exceeding 15,500 miles per second as it orbits the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. This represents approximately 8.5 percent of the speed of light, making it the fastest star ever observed by scientists.
S301 follows an extremely elongated orbital path that brings it dramatically closer to Sagittarius A* than any previously studied star. The celestial object completes one full orbit every 8.7 years and reaches its maximum velocity during its closest approach to the black hole. Researchers from the GRAVITY+ collaboration documented these findings in a recent Nature publication, describing the discovery as a remarkable opportunity to study one of the universe’s most extreme environments.
The star’s tight trajectory offers scientists a unique laboratory for testing fundamental physics theories. S301 passes through regions of spacetime so warped by the black hole’s rotation that it experiences frame-dragging effects. By analyzing how this phenomenon alters the star’s orbit, astronomers can potentially measure the black hole’s spin and test the no-hair theorem, which predicts that a black hole’s properties depend solely on its mass and rotation. Researchers suggest S301 may have originated from a binary star system torn apart by gravitational forces near the black hole.
“`
Originally reported by Sciencealert →
About the Author
