Animated sequence of the VLTI images of stars around the Milky Way’s central black hole

This animation shows the orbits of the stars S29 and S55 as they move close to Sgr A* (centre), the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. As we follow the stars along in their orbits, we see real images of the region obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in March, May, June and July 2021. In addition to S29 and S55, the images also show two fainter stars, S62 and S300, the latter having only been discovered following these new VLTI observations.

Credit:

ESO/GRAVITY collaboration/L. Calçada

About the Video

Id:eso2119b
Release date:14 December 2021, 16:00
Related releases:eso2119
Duration:36 s
Frame rate:25 fps

About the Object

Name:Sagittarius A*
Type:Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole
Category:Quasars and Black Holes

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