Episode Details

Astronomers just discovered the fastest star in our galaxy, S301, zipping around the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s center at 25,000 km/s—over 8% the speed of light. Once part of a binary system, it was torn apart by the black hole’s gravity, leaving S301 in a perilously close orbit. This cosmic drama offers a rare chance to test Einstein’s theory of relativity by measuring how spacetime warps around the black hole. First spotted in 2023, S301’s next closest approach is in 2031—giving scientists a window to directly measure the black hole’s spin, a feat previously impossible.

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