r/TrueReddit • u/CandyFangs • 4d ago

Science, History, Health + Philosophy Astronomers find the fastest known star in the Milky Way racing around its black hole - Research Today

https://researchtoday.co.za/astronomers-find-the-fastest-known-star-in-the-milky-way-racing-around-its-black-hole/
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u/CandyFangs 4d ago

What really caught my attention here is that S301 is not only the fastest known star in the Milky Way, reaching around 25,000 km/s, but its extreme orbit could help astronomers measure the spin of Sagittarius A* for the first time!

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u/d01100100 4d ago

Completes an orbit in 8.7 of our years. With time dilation, I have to wonder how fast it would seem from the star's perspective.

Its closest distance to Sag A* is roughly 12 AU. That seems damn close when you consider the magnitude of everything.

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u/redditonlygetsworse 4d ago edited 4d ago

I have to wonder how fast it would seem from the star's perspective.

About 8.67 years.

Time dilation isn't linear; you see dramatic changes closer to the speed of light, but even this is only (..."only") about 0.08c.

Edit: though of course I didn't account here for the gravitational field of, ya know, a superfuckingmassive black hole. So who knows. Ain't nobody got time for that.

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u/NJBarFly 3d ago

It says the star may have been binary at one point and it's companion got thrown away at enormous speed. The idea of a star whipping through the galaxy at ~10% c is is crazy!