The fastest known star, found in the center of the galaxy – ARXIV:2008.04764 [ASTRO-PH.GA]
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MADRID, 18 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The fastest star ever recorded has been found among the circling stars near the black hole in the center of the Milky Way.
Previous research had identified a star called S2 as probably the closest to this black hole, known as Sagittarius A *, and at its closest point to it it was measured to be traveling at about 3% of the speed of light.
Last year, the researchers of the new study already found another star that was spinning closer to the black hole and therefore traveling even faster, at about 6.7% of the speed of light.
Since then, the team has continued to study fast-moving stars and found five more that appear to travel even faster: S4714, S4711, S4713, and S4715.
Of these, two stand out from the others: S4714 and S4711. S4711 is a blue star with a shorter orbit than S2, suggesting that it could be the closest of all stars to the black hole.
And S4714 has proven to be the fastest of all: it has a longer orbit, but its orbit is elliptical, meaning it is elongated, giving it time, perhaps, to gain more speed as it approaches the black hole. – Up to 15,000 miles per second, or about 8% of the speed of light.
The research is published in The Astrophysical Journal.
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