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The motion of the S2 star in the center of the Milky Way changes with each turn when it is at the point closest to the black hole, creating the effect of a rosette.
Observations made using the ESO project system for the very large telescope of the European Southern Observatory for the first time showed that the star, revolves around a supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy This follows the movement predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity, according to a study published this Thursday in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
After nearly 30 years of measurements, scientists were able to determine that the star’s orbit in the center of the Milky Way galaxy has outlet shapeand not an ellipse, as suggested by Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity.
“Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicts that the attached orbits of one object around another are not closed, as in Newtonian gravity, but rather move forward in the plane of motion,” explains Reinhard Hansel, director, in an ESO statement. from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany.
This interesting effect, first observed in the way the planet Mercury revolves around the Sun, was the first evidence in favor of the general theory of relativity. Now, almost a hundred years later, the researchers found the same effect on the motion of the S2 star, which revolves around the compact radio source Sagittarius A *, in the center of our galaxy, where there is a 4 million times supermassive black hole. mass of the sun.
Sagittarius A * and the dense group of stars around it are located approximately 26,000 light years from our solar system. Measurements show that S2 moves in space at almost 3% of the speed of light and rotates around a black hole once every 16 Earth years.
Coincides with Einstein’s theory
Astronomers explain that most stars and planets have a non-circular orbit, moving away and approaching the object through which they rotate. In the case of the S2 star, its movement changes with each rotation when it is at the point closest to the black hole, creating the effect of a rosette.
Einstein’s Theory provides accurate prediction when a space object changes its orbit and the latest measurements from this study are exactly in line with his theory. This effect, known as the Schwarzschild precession, was first measured on a star around a supermassive black hole.
Since the predictions of the General Theory of Relativity work, these results can help scientists learn more about the surroundings around the black hole in the center of the Milky Way, as well as explore dark matter and other possible smaller black holes. ,
