S2 (star)

S0 -2, or S2, is a star in the Galactic center. He is in an orbit around the radio source Sagittarius A * and circulates this once in 15.2 years. The star has thereby a speed of up to 18 million kilometers per hour ( which is about 1.6% of the speed of light! ) And approaches * at a minimum distance of 17 light hours at Sagittarius A.

Could be S2 is the first known star whose orbit around a supermassive black hole (which is why it is in Sagittarius A * with probability bordering on certainty ) actually measured. To be however torn and swallowed by the black hole, he would have to approach this up to a distance of about 16 light-minutes. According to previous observations, this will not happen in the foreseeable future.

In 2012 a star was discovered with S0 - 102, an even shorter orbital period around Sagittarius A * is 11.5 years.