Astronomers have found the fastest known star in the Milky Way, dubbed S301. Detected using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI), this star orbits the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at a breathtaking speed of about 25,000 kilometers per second (more than 8% the speed of light) at its closest approach. What makes this discovery particularly significant is that S301 comes closer to the black hole than any other star observed before. Because of this proximity, scientists believe S301 could be the first star used to directly measure the rotation of a supermassive black hole — a key test of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
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