Which star orbiting Sagittarius A* has a period of about 16 years?

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Which star orbiting Sagittarius A* has a period of about 16 years? S2 does.

S2, also called S0–2, is a young, massive star orbiting Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Its measured orbital period is about 16.05 years, making it one of the best-observed stars in the Galactic Center.

Astronomers have tracked S2 since the 1990s because its tight, highly eccentric orbit provides a powerful test of gravity. It swings to within roughly 120 astronomical units of Sagittarius A* and reaches several thousand kilometers per second near closest approach. Its 2018 passage produced measurable gravitational redshift and later evidence of relativistic orbital precession, matching predictions of general relativity.

A common mix-up is S55, also known as S0–102. S55 has an even shorter orbit of about 12.8 years, but it is not the star usually identified with the famous approximately 16-year orbit. S2’s observations also helped establish the mass and distance of the Milky Way’s central black hole.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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