S2 (star)
 The clock-wise orbit of 'S2' around Sagittarius A* | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Sagittarius |
| Right ascension | 17h 45m 40.044s[2] |
| Declination | −29° 00′ 28″[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | "B1V[2] |
| Variable type | None |
| Astrometry | |
| Distance | 25900 ± 1400 ly (7940 ± 420[3] pc) |
| Orbit[3] | |
| Companion | Sagittarius A* |
| Period (P) | 15.56 ± 0.35 yr |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 0.1203 ± 0.0027" |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.881 ± 0.007 |
| Inclination (i) | −48.1 ± 1.3° |
| Longitude of the node (Ω) | 45.0 ± 1.6° |
| Periastron epoch (T) | 2002.331 ± 0.012 |
| Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary) | 245.4 ± 1.7° |
| Other designations | |
[CRG2004] 13, [GKM98] S0-2, [PGM2006] E1, [EG97] S2, [GPE2000] 0.15, [SOG2003] 1, S0—2. | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Source 2 (abbreviated S2), also known as S0—2, is a star that is located close to the radio source Sagittarius A*, orbiting it with an orbital period of 15.56 ± 0.35 years and a pericenter distance of 17 light hours (18 Tm or 120 AU) — about four times the distance of Neptune from the Sun. As of 2002, its mass was estimated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to be approximately 
.[4]
Its changing apparent position has been monitored since 1995 by two groups (at UCLA and at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics) as part of an effort to gather evidence for the existence of a supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The accumulating evidence points to Sagittarius A* as being the site of such a black hole. As of 2008, S2 has been observed for one complete orbit.[5]
A team of astronomers mainly from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics used observations of S2's orbital dynamics around Sgr A* to measure the distance from the Earth to the galactic center. They determined the distance to be 7.94 ± 0.42 kiloparsecs, in close agreement with prior determinations of the distance by other methods.[3][6]
The orbit of S2 will give astronomers an opportunity to test for various effects predicted by general relativity and even extra-dimensional effects.[7] Given a recent estimate of 4.3 million solar masses for the mass of Sagittarius A* and S2's close approach, this makes S2 the fastest known ballistic orbit, reaching speeds exceeding 5000 km/s (11,000,000 mph) or 1.67~% of the speed of light and acceleration of about 1.5 m/s2 or almost one-sixth of Earth's surface gravity.[8]
The motion of S2 is also useful for detecting the presence of other objects near to Sagittarius A*. It is believed that there are thousands of stars, as well as dark stellar remnants (stellar black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs) distributed in the volume through which S2 moves. These objects will perturb S2's orbit, causing it to deviate gradually from the Keplerian ellipse that characterizes motion around a single point mass.[9] So far, the strongest constraint that can be placed on this mass is that it comprises less than one percent of the mass of the supermassive black hole.[10]
In 2012, a star called S0-102 was found to be orbiting even closer to the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole than does SO-2. At one-sixteenth the brightness of S0-2, S0-102 was not initially recognized because it required many more years of observations to distinguish it from its local infrared background. S0-102 has an orbital period of 11.5 years, even shorter than that of S0-2. Of all the stars orbiting the black hole, only these two have their orbital parameters and trajectories fully known in all three dimensions of space. The discovery of two stars orbiting the central black hole so closely with their orbits fully described is of extreme interest to astronomers, as the pair together will allow much more precise measurements on the nature of gravity and general relativity around the black hole than would be possible from using S0-2 alone.
Component
| NAME | Right ascension | Declination | Apparent magnitude (V) | Spectral type | Database references |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sgr A* | 17h 45m 12s | -28° 48' 18 | radio source | Simbad |
References
- ↑ Eisenhauer, F.; Genzel, R.; Alexander, T.; Abuter, R.; Paumard, T.; Ott, T.; Gilbert, A.; Gillessen, S.; Horrobin, M.; Trippe, S.; Bonnet, H.; Dumas, C.; Hubin, N.; Kaufer, A.; Kissler‐Patig, M.; Monnet, G.; Strobele, S.; Szeifert, T.; Eckart, A.; Schodel, R.; Zucker, S. (2005). "SINFONI in the Galactic Center: Young Stars and Infrared Flares in the Central Light‐Month". The Astrophysical Journal 628: 246. doi:10.1086/430667.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 [PGM2006] E1 -- Star in double system, database entry, SIMBAD. Accessed on line July 15, 2008.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Eisenhauer, F. et al. (2003). "A Geometric Determination of the Distance to the Galactic Center". The Astrophysical Journal 597 (2): L121–L124. arXiv:astro-ph/0306220. Bibcode:2003ApJ...597L.121E. doi:10.1086/380188.
- ↑ European Southern Observatory (ESO) public data on S2 and Central Black Hole""
- ↑ A short documentary on Sagittarius A* on YouTube
- ↑ Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik—Infrared/Submillimeter Astronomy—Galactic Center Research
- ↑ Black Hole as Peephole
- ↑ Surfing a Black Hole
- ↑ Sabha, Nadeen; Eckart, Andreas; Merritt, David; Mohammad Zamaninasab, Gunther Witzel, Macarena García-Marín, Behrang Jalali, Monica Valencia-S., Senol Yazici, Rainer Buchholz, Banafsheh Shahzamanian, Christian Straubmeier (September 2012). "The S-Star Cluster at the Center of the Milky Way: On the nature of diffuse NIR emission in the inner tenth of a parsec". Astronomy and Astrophysics 545: A70.
- ↑ Gillessen, S.; et al. (2009). "Monitoring Stellar Orbits Around the Massive Black Hole in the Galactic Center". The Astrophysical Journal (IOP Publishing) 692 (2): 1075–1109. arXiv:0810.4674. Bibcode:2009ApJ...692.1075G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/692/2/1075.
External links
- "Star Orbiting Massive Milky Way Centre Approaches to within 17 Light-Hours", ESO Press Release, October 16, 2002
- Stars Orbiting around the Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way on YouTube
- S2 page on the SIMBAD database
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