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Black Hole Spin

All articles tagged with #black hole spin

astronomy2 days ago•16 min saved

New star S301 completes an 8.7-year orbit around Sagittarius A*, edging toward measuring the Milky Way's black hole spin

Astronomers using GRAVITY+ have identified S301, a faint star on an 8.7-year orbit around the Milky Way’s central black hole Sagittarius A*, passing within about 136–142 Schwarzschild radii at roughly 25,000 km/s (≈8% of light). The current data cannot yet measure the black hole’s spin, and the orbit has two mirror solutions due to the lack of radial velocity. Forecasts show that with improved astrometry and spectroscopy—potentially by 2035–2036 under optimistic conditions—a spin constraint could be detected with high significance, though a robust result will require more data and second post-Newtonian modelling.

via Space Daily|

#astronomy #black-hole-spin #frame-dragging

space15 days ago•169 min saved

Closest star yet tests gravity around Milky Way’s monster black hole

Using ESO’s GRAVITY instrument at the VLT, astronomers have found S301, a faint star at the Milky Way’s center on the closest, fastest orbit around Sagittarius A*. With an 8.7-year period, it swings within about 12 astronomical units of the black hole at pericenter, racing at roughly 55 million mph (about 0.008c). Tracked across eight years in 19 positions, the star shows strong general-relativistic effects such as Schwarzschild precession, and within a decade could enable a direct measurement of the black hole’s spin. S301 likely originated from a disrupted binary, and its discovery boosts tests of gravity in extreme fields while hinting at many more such stars detectable with GRAVITY+.

via Live Science|

#black-hole-spin #gravity-instrument #s301

science16 days ago•6 min saved

Star S301's near-miss with Sagittarius A* could unlock the Milky Way's black-hole spin

Astronomers using the GRAVITY instrument on the Very Large Telescope have identified S301, a star on an extremely eccentric orbit that dives to within about 11 AU of the Milky Way's central black hole, Sgr A*. At its closest it speeds around 0.08c, offering a rare opportunity to measure the black hole's spin and to probe its geometry and other properties with future observations.

via Ars Technica|

#astronomy #black-hole-spin #gravity

space16 days ago•2 min saved

S301: Milky Way’s Fastest Star Skims the Central Black Hole

Astronomers have found S301, the Milky Way’s fastest star, zooming around the central black hole Sagittarius A* at about 25,000 km/s on a tight 8.7-year orbit, coming within roughly 12 AU of the hole. Its extreme proximity could enable a direct measurement of the black hole’s spin and a stringent test of Einstein’s general relativity, using the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer to track the orbit back to 2017 and observe the 2031 pericentre passage; spin measurements could come within a decade.

via The Guardian|

#black-hole-spin #general-relativity #s301

space-and-physics2 years ago•3 min saved

Astronomers Measure Supermassive Black Hole's Spin Using Destroyed Star

For the first time, astronomers have measured the spin of a supermassive black hole using the wobble of a hot accretion disk formed from a star that was torn apart by the black hole. The event, known as AT2020ocn, revealed that the black hole's spin is less than one-quarter of the speed of light. This discovery, made using the NICER telescope, provides new insights into the growth and evolution of supermassive black holes.

via IFLScience|

#astronomy #black-hole-spin #space-and-physics