The orbit of S2 is shown to precess as general relativity predicts
The GRAVITY collaboration reported that the orbit of S2 does not close: its pericentre advances from orbit to orbit by the amount general relativity predicts for the Schwarzschild geometry. It is the same class of effect as the anomalous precession of Mercury that supported general relativity in 1915, measured in a field vastly stronger, around an object four million times the mass of the Sun. The measurement also constrains any extended mass distribution inside the orbit.
Observed — measured or witnessed, with the observation cited.
Subjects
- S2 - the star that measured the Galactic centre · celestial body · Galactic centre, constellation Sagittarius as seen from Earth · not located
- Sagittarius A* - the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way · celestial body · Galactic centre, constellation Sagittarius as seen from Earth · not located
- Paranal Observatory and the GRAVITY interferometer · research facility · Chile
Evidence
Partly verified — Core facts are sourced; some optional detail is deliberately absent.
Detection of the Schwarzschild precession in the orbit of the star S2 near the Galactic centre massive black hole
Reports relativistic pericentre advance in the orbit of S2 at the rate general relativity predicts. V55 VERIFICATION BASIS: not consulted in session; no research tool was available. Volume and article number are from recall and must be checked.
Astronomy and Astrophysics (GRAVITY Collaboration) · 2020 · Partly verified
GRAVITY Collaboration, Astronomy and Astrophysics 636, L5 (2020)
Recorded on S2 - the star that measured the Galactic centre
- A star is tracked through a complete close approach to the Galactic centre
- The Event Horizon Telescope observes M87* and Sagittarius A*
- S2 passes pericentre and its light is measurably redshifted
- The orbit of S2 is shown to precess as general relativity predicts
- The Nobel Prize in Physics recognises black holes twice over
- The black hole at the centre of our own galaxy is imaged
Related
Related because they share a subject in the Atlas — never because the text looks similar.
- The black hole at the centre of our own galaxy is imaged · 2022-05-12
- The Nobel Prize in Physics recognises black holes twice over · 2020-10-06
- S2 passes pericentre and its light is measurably redshifted · 2018-05
- The Event Horizon Telescope observes M87* and Sagittarius A* · 2017-04
- A star is tracked through a complete close approach to the Galactic centre · 2002