Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery near the centre of our galaxy, Sagittarius A*. A binary star system, called D9, has been found orbiting each other extremely close to the supermassive black hole. This is the first time such a finding has been spotted near a supermassive black hole.
The binary stars are estimated to be 2.7 million years old, making them stellar infants. However, their lives will likely be short due to the intense gravitational pull of the black hole, which could cause the stars to collide and merge within just 1 million years.
Researchers used data from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope to make this discovery. They observed a strange pattern in one of the binary star systems, known as D9, which showed recurring variations in velocity over 15 years.
The discovery is providing valuable insights into how stars can survive in extreme gravitational environments. The findings also suggest that planets could potentially be formed around young stars near supermassive black holes.
“This provides only a brief window on cosmic timescales to observe such a binary system — and we succeeded!” says Emma Bordier, co-author of the study published in Nature Communications.
Source: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/d9-binary-stars-near-black-hole-sagittarius-a