Simulation of the orbits of stars around the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way

This simulation shows the orbits of a tight group of stars close to the supermassive blackhole at the heart of the Milky Way. During 2018 one of these stars, S2, passed very close to the black hole and was the subject of intense scrutiny with ESO telescope. Its behaviour matched the predictions of Einsteins's general relativity and was inconsistent with simpler Newtonian gravity.

More information and download options: http://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso1...

Credit:
ESO/L. Calçada/spaceengine.org

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• #european_southern_observatory