Map of the Universe

S2

Star · Star orbiting close to Sagittarius A*

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S2
Picture: ESO/MPE/S. Gillessen et al., CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

About S2

S2 is about 26,996 light-years from the Sun, so the light we see from it left about 26,996 years ago.

It is 53 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way.

The map lists it as a star and shows it among the stars around the Sun, drawn on the plane of the Milky Way.

A star orbiting Sagittarius A* every 16 years; its orbit weighed the black hole and tested general relativity.

Key numbers

Distance26,996 light-years (8.28 kpc)
Distance from the Galactic centre53 light-years
Galactic coordinatesl = 359.94°, b = -0.05°

Where it is

Its place in the universe, from the inside out: Milky Way › Local Group › Virgo Supercluster › Laniakea Supercluster › Observable universe.

Zoom out to see it in context: Local Arm, a view about 12,000 light-years across.

From Wikipedia

S2, also known as S0–2, is a star in the star cluster close to the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), orbiting it with a period of 16.0518 years, a semi-major axis of about 970 AU, and a pericenter distance of 17 light hours – an orbit with a period only about 30% longer than that of Jupiter around the Sun, but coming no closer than about four times the distance of Neptune from the Sun.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article S2 (star), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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