Young star round Sgr A*
S42
Goes round the black hole every 340 years, as near as 3,405 AU at its closest.
Measured
- Distance
- about 26,996 light-years
How far, from the Sun
About 27,000 light-years. To cross it:
- Light27,000 years
- Voyager 1's speed480 million years
- Driving at 100 km/h291 billion years
Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.
Facts
- Next closest approach: 2343.
- Orbit's eccentricity 0.57.
Where this comes from
- S-star orbits: Gillessen et al. 2017, ApJ 837, 30; GRAVITY Collaboration 2020, A&A 636, L5 and 2022, A&A 657, L12.
Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.