Fastest star discovered orbiting Milky Way black hole

Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile's Atacama Desert have discovered the fastest known star in the Milky Way. The star orbits the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy at speeds of about 15,534 miles per second (25,000 kilometers per second), completing one orbit in just 8.7 years. It is 10 times closer to the black hole than the previous record holder, close enough to be influenced by the black hole's rotation. The findings, led by Stefan Gillessen of the Germany — Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, were published in the journal Nature. Scientists believe studying such stars can help measure properties of the black hole, including its spin. Tuan Do of the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not involved in the study, noted that this is likely just the tip of the iceberg, with more fast stars expected to be found as telescopes improve.