S2 – Astronomy Now

Star’s orbit around black hole more proof Einstein was right

16 April 2020 Astronomy Now

After decades of observation, researchers confirm the orbit of a star in close orbit around the Milky Way’s central black hole obeys Einstein’s predictions.

Hint of relativity effects in stars orbiting centre of galaxy

10 August 2017 Astronomy Now

A new analysis of data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope and other telescopes suggests that the orbits of stars around the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way may show the subtle effects predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

Successful first observations of galactic centre with GRAVITY instrument

23 June 2016 Astronomy Now

A European team of astronomers have used the new GRAVITY instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope to obtain exciting observations of the centre of the Milky Way by combining light from all four of the 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes for the first time. These results provide a taste of the groundbreaking science that GRAVITY will produce as it tests Einstein’s general relativity.

Radio telescopes could spot supersonic stars hidden in the galactic centre

22 September 2015 Astronomy Now

The centre of our Milky Way galaxy is a mysterious place. Not only is it thousands of light-years away, it’s also cloaked in so much dust that most stars within are rendered invisible. Harvard researchers are proposing a new way to clear the fog and spot stars hiding there. They suggest looking for radio waves coming from supersonic stars.