A recently discovered star has been orbiting a massive black hole, and because of its astonishing speed, scientists are calling it the fastest star in the universe.
S4716, the star’s real name, has been observed and recorded for about 20 years. Scientists have confirmed that the star’s speed is 5000 miles per second, or 18 million miles per hour. The star orbits Sagittarius, a black hole in the Milky Way’s center.
Sagittarius measures 14.6 million kilometers, and S4716 orbits it in just four years, which is the fastest time recorded for a star. This is because of how close the star is to the black hole.
Black holes are dying stars that have a gravitational force that lets nothing out, including things like sound or light. If a star is in a black hole’s gravitational pull, it will begin to orbit it, just like how planets orbit the sun.
Scientists from the University of Cologne and Masaryk University found the star. “For a star to be in a stable orbit so close and fast in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole was completely unexpected and marks the limit that can be observed with traditional telescopes,” said Dr. Florian Peissker, the leader of the study.
After more research, scientists have concluded that the star is around 100 astronomical units away from the black hole. One astronomical unit is about 929.6 million miles. Although this may sound like a lot, it isn’t much compared to the vastness of space.
To study the star, five telescopes were used. Four of the five telescopes were put in front of each other to enlarge the action even more. With the help of these telescopes, the scientists would finally be able to see what’s going on clearly and measure the distances and speed efficiently.
S4716 is one of many speedy stars that orbit Sagittarius. There are around 100 of them, and although not all of them can be compared to S4716, they still are very fast.
Sources:
Npr.org
nasa.gov
iopscience.iop.org
S4716, the star’s real name, has been observed and recorded for about 20 years. Scientists have confirmed that the star’s speed is 5000 miles per second, or 18 million miles per hour. The star orbits Sagittarius, a black hole in the Milky Way’s center.
Sagittarius measures 14.6 million kilometers, and S4716 orbits it in just four years, which is the fastest time recorded for a star. This is because of how close the star is to the black hole.
Black holes are dying stars that have a gravitational force that lets nothing out, including things like sound or light. If a star is in a black hole’s gravitational pull, it will begin to orbit it, just like how planets orbit the sun.
Scientists from the University of Cologne and Masaryk University found the star. “For a star to be in a stable orbit so close and fast in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole was completely unexpected and marks the limit that can be observed with traditional telescopes,” said Dr. Florian Peissker, the leader of the study.
After more research, scientists have concluded that the star is around 100 astronomical units away from the black hole. One astronomical unit is about 929.6 million miles. Although this may sound like a lot, it isn’t much compared to the vastness of space.
To study the star, five telescopes were used. Four of the five telescopes were put in front of each other to enlarge the action even more. With the help of these telescopes, the scientists would finally be able to see what’s going on clearly and measure the distances and speed efficiently.
S4716 is one of many speedy stars that orbit Sagittarius. There are around 100 of them, and although not all of them can be compared to S4716, they still are very fast.
Sources:
Npr.org
nasa.gov
iopscience.iop.org
