S4716 orbits the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy, coming within 92 million miles of it.

Astrophysicists have discovered a fast-moving star that is racing around the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. S4716 orbits the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) in around four years. 

At 18 million miles per hour (29 million kilometers per hour), the star is traveling at speeds of nearly 5,000 miles per second. The supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, which has an estimated diameter of 14.6 million miles (23.5 million kilometers), is close to S4716 at 92 million miles (150 million kilometers).

The distance between Earth and the sun is 100 times this, which is a relatively small distance in cosmic terms. Sgr A* is 26,000 light-years from the sun, corresponding to 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion kilometers). 

S4716 forms part of a dense cluster of stars known as the S cluster, which orbits close to the Milky Way's supermassive black hole. While all of these stars in the S cluster move particularly fast, their brightness and mass vary significantly. 

A star so close to Sgr* could change our understanding of how our galaxy has evolved, especially in regards to its fast-moving central stars.

The short period and compact orbit of S4716 are quite puzzling, according to Masaryk University in Brno astrophysicist Michael Zaja*ek. It was necessary for S4716 to move inwards, for example by approaching other stars and objects within the S cluster, which caused its orbit to shrink significantly.

S2 is arguably the most famous star in the S-cluster, orbiting Sgr A* every 16 years and coming as close to the black hole as 11 billion miles away. miles (18 million km). But while S2 has been incredibly useful for the study of Sgr A*, it isn't always helpful.

In a statement, Florian Peissker, an astrophysicist at the University of Cologne and co-author of the study, said that S2 behaves like a large person sitting in front of you in a movie theater. S2 often obscures the view into the center of our galaxy. However, in a few moments, we can observe the surroundings of the black hole.'

As a result of continuously refining analytical techniques over two decades, Peissker and his team were able to confirm S4716's rapid orbital period after 20 years of observations.

There were five telescopes that observed S4716: the Keck observatory instruments NIR2 and OSIRIS, the Very Large Telescope instruments SINFONI, NACO, and GRAVITY.

'To observe a star so close and fast in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole was completely unexpected, and it marks a limit for what can be observed with traditional telescopes,' Peissker concluded.Researchers published their findings in The Astrophysical Journal on Tuesday (July 5).