Artist’s impression of Schwarzschild precession

Observations made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed for the first time that a star orbiting the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way moves just as predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Its orbit is shaped like a rosette and not like an ellipse as predicted by Newton's theory of gravity. This effect, known as Schwarzschild precession, had never before been measured for a star around a supermassive black hole. This artist’s impression illustrates the precession of the star’s orbit, with the effect exaggerated for easier visualisation.

Credit:

ESO/L. Calçada

About the Image

Id:eso2006a
Type:Artwork
Release date:16 April 2020, 09:00
Related releases:eso2006
Size:5000 x 3000 px

About the Object

Name:Sgr A*
Type:Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole
Category:Illustrations
Quasars and Black Holes

Image Formats

Large JPEG
1.9 MB
Screensize JPEG
175.7 KB

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