Binary Star System Found Near Milky Way Black Hole

Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery of a binary star system, named D9, near Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This is the first time such a stellar pair has been found in close proximity to a supermassive black hole, challenging previous assumptions about the gravitational forces that were thought to prevent the formation of such systems. The D9 system, estimated to be 2.7 million years old, demonstrates that binary stars can briefly survive in extreme gravitational conditions, though it is expected to eventually merge into a single star. This find, derived from data collected by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, offers new insights into stellar dynamics and the potential for discovering planets in similar extreme environments. The research, led by Florian Peißker from the University of Cologne, was published in the journal Nature Communications.