The DOI matches its Crossref record; 25 of the 25 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A star in a 15.2-year orbit around the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way
Open accessAbstract
Many galaxies are thought to have supermassive black holes at their centres-more than a million times the mass of the Sun. Measurements of stellar velocities and the discovery of variable X-ray emission have provided strong evidence in favour of such a black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, but have hitherto been unable to rule out conclusively the presence of alternative concentrations of mass. Here we report ten years of high-resolution astrometric imaging that allows us to trace two-thirds of the orbit of the star currently closest to the compact radio source (and massive black-hole candidate) Sagittarius A*. The observations, which include both pericentre and apocentre passages, show that the star is on a bound, highly elliptical keplerian orbit around Sgr A*, with an orbital period of 15.2 years and a pericentre distance of only 17 light hours. The orbit with the best fit to the observations requires a central point mass of (3.7 +/- 1.5) x 10(6) solar masses (M(*)). The data no longer allow for a central mass composed of a dense cluster of dark stellar objects or a ball of massive, degenerate fermions.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“very similar to the MW black hole, M bh ≈ 4 × 10 6 M ⊙ (Genzel et al. 1996; Schödel et al. 2002; Ghez et al. 2003; EHT Collaboration et al. 2022a).”
From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Schödel et al. 2002
In the citing paper
“Our Galaxy is known to contain a supermassive black hole (SMBH) of mass M bh ≈ 4 . 14 × 10 6 M ⊙ at its center, Sgr A ∗ , at a distance of D = 8 . 127 kpc (Genzel et al. 1996; Schödel et al. 2002; Ghez et al. 2003; Genzel et al. 2010; GRAVITY Collaboration et al. 2019; EHT Collaboration et al. 2022a).”
From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Schödel et al. 2002
Citations
Cites
Inward Bound: The Search for Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei
Kormendy, J., & Richstone, D. O. (1995) · Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.33.090195.003053 · Cited by 2,516
Ghez, A. M., Klein, B., Morris, M., & Becklin, E. E. (1998) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/306528 · Cited by 770
The Distance to the Center of the Galaxy
Reid, M. J., Schneps, M. H., Moran, J. S., Gwinn, C. R., Genzel, R., Downes, D., & Rönnäng, B. (1987) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-4782-5_169 · Cited by 712
Self-citationRapid X-ray flaring from the direction of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Centre
Baganoff, F. K., Bautz, M. W., Brandt, W. N., Chartas, G., Feigelson, E. D., GARMIRE, G. P., Maeda, Y., Morris, M., Ricker, G. R., Townsley, L. K., et al. (2001) · Nature · doi:10.1038/35092510 · Cited by 635
The accelerations of stars orbiting the Milky Way's central black hole
Ghez, A. M., Morris, M., Becklin, E. E., Tanner, A. M., & Kremenek, T. (2000) · Nature · doi:10.1038/35030032 · Cited by 457
Observations of stellar proper motions near the Galactic Centre
Eckart, A., & Genzel, R. (1996) · Nature · doi:10.1038/383415a0 · Cited by 433
Self-citationStellar dynamics in the Galactic Centre: proper motions and anisotropy
Genzel, R., Pichon, C., Eckart, A., Gerhard, O., & Ott, T. (2000) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03582.x · Cited by 397
Self-citationOn the nature of the dark mass in the centre of the Milky Way
Genzel, R., Eckart, A., Ott, T., & Eisenhauer, F. (1997) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/291.1.219 · Cited by 352
Self-citationThe Proper Motion of Sagittarius A*. I. First VLBA Results
Reid, M. J., Readhead, A. C. S., Vermeulen, R. C., & Treuhaft, R. N. (1999) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/307855 · Cited by 228
Self-citationDynamical Constraints on Alternatives to Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei
Maoz, E. (1998) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/311194 · Cited by 191
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Gudehus, D. H. A multiple-star combined solution program — Application to the population II binary µ Cas. Am. Astron. Soc. Meeting 198, 1–13 (2001)
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 901–1,000 of 1,000
Armitage, P. J. (2008) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1162876
Ghez, A. M. (1997) · Springer proceedings in physics · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-18902-9_44
Renzini, A. (2008) · Astrophysics and space science proceedings · doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-9190-2_1
IMPLICATION OF STELLAR PROPER MOTION OBSERVATIONS ON RADIO EMISSION OF SAGITTARIUS A
Chang, H., & Choi, C. (2003) · Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society · doi:10.5303/jkas.2003.36.3.081
Non-Keplerian Orbits for the Star S2 Around the Black Hole at the Galactic Center
Mouawad, N., Eckart, A., Pfalzner, S., Moultaka, J., & Straubmeier, C. (1997) · Springer proceedings in physics · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-18902-9_52
Self-citationThe formation of satellite galaxies and their associated black holes
Libeskind, N. I. (2006) · Durham e-Theses (Durham University)
IRS 3 - The Brightest Compact MIR Source in the Galactic Center
Eckart, A., Pott, J., Glindemann, A., Viehmann, T., Schödel, R., Straubmeier, C., Leinert, C., Feldt, M., Genzel, R., & Robberto, M. (2007) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-74256-2_37
Self-citationKomberg, B. V., & Пилипенко, С. В. (2012) · Astronomy Reports · doi:10.1134/s1063772912110054
Stars Close to the Massive Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way
Mouawad, N., Eckart, A., Pfalzner, S., Straubmeier, C., Spurzem, R., Genzel, R., Ott, T., & Schödel, R. (2003) · Lecture notes in physics · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-45040-5_25
Self-citationSupermassive black holes in local galaxies
Bender, R., & Saglia, R. P. (2007) · Comptes Rendus Physique · doi:10.1016/j.crhy.2006.11.005
The Flare Activity of Sagittarius A
Eckart, A., Schödel, R., Meyer, L., Ott, T., Trippe, S., & Genzel, R. (2007) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-74713-0_30
Self-citationRotation curve of galaxies by the force induced by mass of moving particles
Ihm, K., & Lee, K.-J. (2013) · Astrophysics and Space Science · doi:10.1007/s10509-013-1453-y
Tidal processes very near the black hole in the Galactic Center
Tal Alexander, A. (2003) · Astronomische Nachrichten · doi:10.1002/asna.200385098
High energy radiation from the direction of the galactic black hole Sgr A∗
Cheng, K. S., Chernyshov, D. O., & Dogiel, V. A. (2007) · Advances in Space Research · doi:10.1016/j.asr.2007.04.103
Features of nucleosynthesis in binary stars
Леушин, В. В. (2013) · Astrophysics · doi:10.1007/s10511-013-9278-5
A New Approach to Black hole Spin in X-Ray Binaries
Xue-Qin, Z., Wang, D.-X., & Ma, R. (2005) · Chinese Physics Letters · doi:10.1088/0256-307x/22/10/074
Simultaneous Multi-Wavelength Spectrum of Sgr A* and Long Wavelength Cutoff at λ > 30 cm
An, T., Goss, W. M., Zhao, J., Hong, X., Roy, S., Rao, A. P., & Shen, Z.-Q. (2006) · Journal of Physics Conference Series · doi:10.1088/1742-6596/54/1/060
Astronomical constraints on properties of sterile neutrino dark matter
Chan, M. H., & Chu, M. C. (2010) · Astrophysics and Space Science · doi:10.1007/s10509-010-0507-7
Observational Appearance of Luminous Relativistic Movers
Fükue, J. (2009) · Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan · doi:10.1093/pasj/61.4.645
Karlsson, R., Sandqvist, A., Sjouwerman, L. O., & Whiteoak, J. B. (2003) · Astronomische Nachrichten · doi:10.1002/asna.200385033
VLBA observation of a radio intraday flare of Sgr A*
Miyoshi, M., Imai, H., Nakashima, J., Deguchi, S., & Shen, Z. Q. (2003) · Astronomische Nachrichten · doi:10.1002/asna.200385072
Understanding our Galaxy: from the center to outskirts
Shen, Z. Q., Xu, Y., Han, J. L., & Zheng, X. W. (2007) · Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union · doi:10.1017/s1743921308019832
Wilms, J. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/444699a
The sub-millimeter emission and the visibility of Sagittarius A*
Huang, L., Shen, Z.-Q., Liu, S., Yuan, F., Cai, M. J., Li, H., & Fryer, C. L. (2008) · Journal of Physics Conference Series · doi:10.1088/1742-6596/131/1/012005
The HYPER-MUCHFUSS project—the constant high-velocity population
Tillich, A., Geier, S., Heber, U., Hirsch, H. A., Maxted, P. F. L., Marsh, T. R., Gänsicke, B. T., Napiwotzki, R., Østensen, R. H., & Scholz, R. ‐. (2010) · Astrophysics and Space Science · doi:10.1007/s10509-010-0342-x
Kinetic Effects on Turbulence Driven by the Magnetorotational Instability in Black Hole AccretionPreprint
Sharma, P. (2007) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0703542
Accretion of stellar winds onto Sgr A*
Cuadra, J., & Nayakshin, S. (2006) · Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union · doi:10.1017/s1743921307004954
The NuTel telescope for observing very high energy tau neutrinos from AGN
Yeh, P., Ueno, K., Chi, Y., Velikzhanin, Y., Wang, M.-Z., Shiu, J.-G., & Hsu, C.-C. (2003) · IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS/MIC) · doi:10.1109/nssmic.2003.1352016
The European Southern Observatory and VLT Telescopes on ParanalPreprint
Boley, P. A. (2012) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1202.3310
Black Holes and the Dark Sector
Capela, F., & Tinyakov, P. (2014)
Instructions for Using Bibtex with Latex Documents
Brosius, D. F. (2013)
Stone, J. M. (2015) · UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona)
Computational Modelling of Galaxy Formation using FLAME GPU
James, L. W. (2012)
Aspects of plasma physics and magnetohydrodynamics
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.012
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.005
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.011
Charles Hard Townes: Remarkable Scientist and Inspiring Teacher
Goldsmith, P. F. (2015) · EAS Publications Series · doi:10.1051/eas/1575002
Orlov, S. (2016) · Journal of Advance Research in Applied Science · doi:10.53555/nnas.v3i2.663
The vicinity of the black hole
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.021
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.014
Ashtekar, A., Berger, B. K., Isenberg, J. A., & MacCallum, M. A. H. (2015) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139583961.002
(2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.026
(2014) · IMPERIAL COLLEGE PRESS eBooks · doi:10.1142/9781783264834_0002
Interstellar gas and magnetic fields
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.013
Cosmological aspects of high energy astrophysics
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.024
Lights and Shadows on Galaxies Understanding
D’Onofrio, M., Rampazzo, R., & Zaggia, S. R. (2016) · Astrophysics and space science library · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-31006-0_10
The acceleration of high energy particles
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.018
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.016
Hilburn, G. (2012) · Rice Research Repository (Rice University)
Perturbações em torno de buracos negros e seus duais algébricos
Jimenez, A. F. C. (2015) · Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (Universidade de São Paulo) · doi:10.11606/d.43.2015.tde-10072015-165904
Molecular gas in the immediate vicinity of Sgr A* seen with ALMA
Moser, L., Sánchez-Monge, Á., Eckart, A., Requena-Torres, M. A., García-Marin, M., Kunneriath, D., Zensus, J. A., Britzen, S., Sabha, N. B., Shahzamanian, B., et al. (2016) · Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union · doi:10.1017/s1743921316012126
Self-citationPeriapsis shift and deflection of light by hairy black holesPreprint
Choque, D., Llerena, W. D., & Vargas, J. D. (2017) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1705.10029
Sensitive Solution-processed Quantum Dot Photodetectors
Konstantatos, G. (2009) · TSpace (University of Toronto)
Predictions of the pseudo‐complex general relativity
Hess, P. O. (2017) · Astronomische Nachrichten · doi:10.1002/asna.201713420
Inflation and primordial perturbations
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0012
Black-hole perturbation theory
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0003
GWs from compact binaries. Observations
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0006
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0008
Helicity decomposition of metric perturbations
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0009
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0007
Stochastic backgrounds of cosmological origin
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0013
Stochastic backgrounds and pulsar timing arrays
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0014
Evolution of cosmological perturbations
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0010
Properties of dynamical space-times
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0004
GWs from compact binaries. Theory
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0005
Maggiore, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198570899.003.0011
Goicoechea, J. R., Santa-Maria, M. G., Teyssier, D., Cernicharo, J., Gérin, M., & Pety, J. (2018) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1807.07459
Stellar Dynamics in the Galactic Center: 1000 Stars in 100 Nights
Ott, T., Genzel, R., Eckart, A., & Schödel, R. (2003) · doi:10.1002/9783527617982.ch81
Self-citationA New X‐Ray Flare from the Galactic Nucleus Detected with XMM‐Newton
Goldwurm, A., Brion, E., Goldoni, P., Ferrando, P. R., Daigne, F., Decourchelle, A., Warwick, R. S., & Predehl, P. (2003) · doi:10.1002/9783527617982.ch57
Recurrent Instability in LMXB Accretion Disks: How Strange is GRS 1915+105?Preprint
Court, J. M. C. (2019) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1903.03675
Constraining Scalar-Tensor gravity models by S2 star orbits around the Galactic CenterPreprint
Jovanović, V. B., Jovanović, P., Borka, D., Capozzıello, S., Gravina, S., & D’Addio, A. (2019) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1904.05558
Dark Matter: An Unforeseen Gravitational Property of Relativistic Space-Time?
Pukkila, A. (2019) · Journal of High Energy Physics Gravitation and Cosmology · doi:10.4236/jhepgc.2019.52029
The Disruption of Binary Star Systems by Massive Black Holes and the Restricted 3-Body Problem
Brown, H. J. (2019) · Liverpool John Moores University · doi:10.24377/ljmu.t.00010850
A new paradigm for the universe (preliminary version)Preprint
Rourke, C. (2003) · arXiv (Cornell University)
Searching for gravitational waves emitted by binaries with spinning componentsPreprint
Jones, G. (2010) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1002.1876
KAWs in Extrasolar Astrophysical Plasmas
Wu, D. J., & Chen, L. (2020) · Atmosphere, earth, ocean & space · doi:10.1007/978-981-13-7989-5_7
Guidry, M. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108181914.003
Miller, M. J., Cabral, M. J., Dickey, E. C., LeBeau, J. M., & Reich, B. J. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.14248539
The Einstein Equivalence Principle
Will, C. M. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316338612.003
Donald Lynden-Bell: A Biographical MemoirPreprint
Evans, N. W. (2020) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.17863/cam.70482
Longair, M. S. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778346.022
Gillessen, S. (2020) · Physik in unserer Zeit · doi:10.1002/piuz.202001598
Lena, P. J. (2020) · Astronomers' universe · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-55811-6_7
Tanabe, I., & Ozao, R. (2020) · viXra
Molecular gas in the immediate vicinity of Sgr A* seen with ALMA
Moser, L., Sánchez-Monge, Eckart, A., Requena-Torres, M., Garcia-Marin, M., Kunneriath, D., Zensus, J., Britzen, S., Sabha, N., Shahzamanian, B., et al. (2017) · Max Planck Digital Library
Self-citationTidal Capture by a Black Hole and Flares in Galactic CentresPreprint
Gomboc, A., & Calvani, M. (2012)
A numerical study of Galactic Centre stars
Salcido, O., & Calcáneo-Roldán, C. (2020) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/staa3797
Burke, B. F., Smith, F. G., & Wilkinson, P. N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316987506.018
Miller, M. J., Cabral, M. J., Dickey, E. C., LeBeau, J. M., & Reich, B. J. (2021) · Technometrics · doi:10.1080/00401706.2021.1905070
Guidry, M. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108181914.016
Further Interferometric Techniques
Burke, B. F., Smith, F. G., & Wilkinson, P. N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316987506.014
Burke, B. F., Smith, F. G., & Wilkinson, P. N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316987506.017
The Radio Contributions to Cosmology
Burke, B. F., Smith, F. G., & Wilkinson, P. N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316987506.021
The Nature of the Received Radio Signal
Burke, B. F., Smith, F. G., & Wilkinson, P. N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316987506.007
Buracos negros: a derradeira fronteira
Cardoso, V., & Duque, F. (2021) · Cadernos de Astronomia · doi:10.47456/cad.astro.v2n2.35943
Feng, Y., Zhao, X.-S., & Gou, L. (2020) · Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version) · doi:10.1360/tb-2020-1301
Structure and Motion of Compact Objects
Will, C. M. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316338612.011
Metadata
- Authors
- Schödel, R., Ott, T., Genzel, R., Hofmann, R., Lehnert, M., Eckart, A., Mouawad, N., Alexander, T., Reid, M. J., Lenzen, R., Hartung, M., Lacombe, F., Rouan, D., Gendron, E., Rousset, G., Lagrange, A.-M., Brandner, W., Ageorges, N., Lidman, C., Moorwood, A. F. M., Spyromilio, J., Hubin, N., & Menten, K. M.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US)
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (DE)
- Observatoire de Paris (FR)
- Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales (FR)
- European Southern Observatory (DE)
- Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Schödel, R.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2002-10
- Volume
- 419
- Issue
- 6908
- Pages
- 694-696
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2001876144
- Cited by
- 1,166
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 73 · 2020: 53 · 2019: 121 · 2018: 64 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 38 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 49
- FWCI
- 46.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- arxiv.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (acceptedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- CERN Document Server (European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion)
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
- Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- European Southern Observatory
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Keywords
- Sgr A*, supermassive black holes, S2 star, stellar orbits, astrometry, Galactic Center, Keplerian orbits, central mass concentration
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
