Another artist’s impression of S2’s precession effect

Observations made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed for the first time that a star, S2, orbiting the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way moves just as predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Most stars and planets have a non-circular orbit and therefore move closer and further away from the object they are rotating around. S2’s orbit precesses, meaning that the location of its closest point to the supermassive black hole changes with each turn, such that the next orbit is rotated with regard to the previous one, creating a rosette shape. This effect, known as Schwarzschild precession, had never before been measured for a star around a supermassive black hole.

This animation shows S2’s orbit around Sagitarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. The precession movement is exaggerated for easier viewing.

Crédit:

MPE / TWENTYTWO Film

À propos de la vidéo

Identification:eso2006g
Date de publication:16 avril 2020 09:00
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso2006
Durée:34 s
Frame rate:25 fps

À propos de l'objet

Type:Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole
Catégorie:Quasars and Black Holes

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