Does the Milky Way's central black hole rotate? This star could tell us | ESO

Does the Milky Way's central black hole rotate? This star could tell us | ESO

Astronomers have discovered the fastest known star in our galaxy, the Milky Way, orbiting Sagittarius A*, the black hole at its center. The star, named S301, was detected with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and it reaches speeds of more than 8% the speed of light. It comes closer to the black hole than any other star observed before, so close that it feels the effects of the black hole’s rotation. This video summarizes the discovery.

0:00 - Tracking the S301 star

1:19 - How did S301 get there?

2:30 - Testing General Relativity

4:37 - Twisting space-time

5:43 - How to measure the spin of Sgr A*

Credit: ESO 
Directed by: M. Wallner, M. Kornmesser
Hosted by: S. Randall
Written by: E. Elkington, S. Randall, B. Ferreira
Editing: M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada
Videography: A. Tsaousis
Animations & footage:
ESO, L. Calçada, M. Kornmesser, GRAVITY collaboration, American Institute of Physics (AIP), Apical, Cimolai, Nobel Foundation archive, A. Tsaousis
Scientific consultants: P. Amico
Promotion: J. C. Muñoz Mateos and O. Sandu
Filming Locations: ESO Supernova
Based on research by the GRAVITY collaboration
Duration: 7 minutes
Release Date: Aug. 19, 2026

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