Scientists have discovered the first binary system in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. So far, only single stars have been found in the area. Scientists believe that the discovered pair should merge into one whole in a million years.
First binary star
An international team of scientists led by Florian Peißker of the University of Cologne recently discovered the first binary star at the very center of the Milky Way. The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, or rather the ERIS instrument mounted on it, helped them do so. It made it possible to measure with great accuracy the velocity of the star and to determine irregularities in its motion.
The center of the Milky Way is considered an extremely turbulent place. This is where the Sagittarius A* black hole is located, which, although considered quiescent, is still surrounded by a giant accretion disk from which it absorbs matter.
This monster greatly affects the movement of all objects that are relatively close to it. Nonetheless, scientists have long known that there is a whole scattering of very bright stars in its immediate vicinity. However, they are all singular. This is understandable since gravity should have easily broken the pair.
Star D9
And now scientists have found the star D9, it is very similar to those that have been discovered in this place earlier and form the S cluster. Except it’s actually two stars that are almost touching each other. As scientists have determined, this pair emerged only 2.7 million years ago, and in a million years it should merge into one whole.
The discovery of the D9 star is important to scientists in terms of understanding the evolution of the S cluster and the entire supermassive black hole environment. It is quite possible that these binary systems are in fact the mysterious G objects. They look like something between stars and compact clusters of gas.
The exact nature of the many objects orbiting Sagittarius A*, and how they could have formed so close to the supermassive black hole, remains a mystery. But an upgrade of the GRAVITY+ interferometer of the VLT and the METIS instrument on ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which is under construction in Chile, could soon change that.
Provided by phys.org
