A Star Orbiting Our Galaxy’s Supermassive Black Hole Tests the Limits of Relativity

On: July 20, 2026

A Star Orbiting Our Galaxy’s Supermassive Black Hole Tests the Limits of Relativity

Illustration of a sunlike star passing very close to a supermassive black hole. Credit: ESO, ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser

A Sun-like star orbits the supermassive black hole in our Milky Way so closely that it comes within the distance of Neptune’s orbit of the Sun. It has a top speed of more than 8% of light speed. With such extreme motion the star gives astronomers the opportunity to test the limits of general relativity.

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