Astronomers identify star on the tightest known orbit around Sagittarius A*

Astronomers reported in Nature that they identified S301, a faint star orbiting the Milky Way's central black hole every 8.7 years. The star passes within about 12 astronomical units of Sagittarius A* at roughly 8% of the speed of light, according to the report. Researchers used the GRAVITY instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and archival observations. They said continued observations could enable a measurement of the black hole's spin within about a decade.