Sagittarius A* cluster

The Sagittarius A* cluster is the cluster of stars in close orbit around Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way (in the Galactic Center). The individual stars are often listed as "S-stars", but their names and IDs are not formalized, and stars can have different numbers in different catalogues.

One of the most studied stars is S2, a relatively bright star that also passes close by Sgr A*.

As of 2020, S4714 is the current record holder of closest approach to Sagittarius A*, at about 12.6 astronomical units (1.88×109 km), almost as close as Saturn gets to the Sun, traveling at about 8% of the speed of light. These figures given are approximate, the formal uncertainties being 12.6±9.3 au and 23928±8840 km/s. Its orbital period is 12 years, but an extreme eccentricity of 0.985 gives it the close approach and high velocity.

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