Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery, finding the first binary stars orbiting a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The stellar pair, designated D9, was detected using data from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
The binary stars are estimated to be just 2.7 million years old and were previously thought to have been destroyed by the intense gravity of the black hole. However, their survival suggests that these environments may be stable enough for planet formation. “Black holes are not as destructive as we thought,” said research lead author Florian Peißker.
The team’s findings indicate that regions around supermassive black holes are not chaotic and can support star birth. The discovery of binary stars like D9 provides a unique window into the formation of young stellar systems in these environments. These stars orbit within the S-star cluster, where they are pulled by the immense gravity of the 4.3 million sun-mass black hole.
The GRAVITY + upgrade to the VLT and future Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will further reveal the nature of objects around Sgr A*. The discovery opens possibilities for detecting planets in the galactic center, given that planets often form around young stars like D9. As Dr. Peißker noted, “It seems plausible that the detection of planets in the galactic center is just a matter of time.”
Source: https://www.space.com/first-binary-stars-sgrA-black-hole