This image indicates the location of the newly discovered binary star D9, which is orbiting Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. It is the first star pair ever found near a supermassive black hole. The cut-out shows the binary system as detected by the SINFONI spectrograph on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. While the two stars cannot be discerned separately in this image, the binary nature of D9 was revealed by the spectra captured by SINFONI over several years. These spectra showed that the light emitted by hydrogen gas around D9 oscillates periodically towards red and blue wavelengths as the two stars orbit each other.
An international team of researchers has detected a binary star orbiting close to Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. It is the first time a stellar pair has been found in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole. The discovery, based on data collected by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT), helps us understand how stars survive in environments with extreme gravity, and could pave the way for the detection of planets close to Sagittarius A*.
“Black holes are not as destructive as we thought”
says Florian Peißker, a researcher at the University of Cologne, Germany, and lead author of the study published today in Nature Communications. Binary stars, pairs of stars orbiting each other, are very common in the Universe, but they had never before been found near a supermassive black hole, where the intense gravity can make stellar systems unstable.
This new discovery shows that some binaries can briefly thrive, even under destructive conditions. D9, as the newly discovered binary star is called, was detected just in time: it is estimated to be only 2.7 million years old, and the strong gravitational force of the nearby black hole will probably cause it to merge into a single star within just one million years, a very narrow timespan for such a young system.
“This provides only a brief window on cosmic timescales to observe such a binary system — and we succeeded!”
explains co-author Emma Bordier, a researcher also at the University of Cologne and a former student at ESO.
For many years, scientists also thought that the extreme environment near a supermassive black hole prevented new stars from forming there. Several young stars found in close proximity to Sagittarius A* have disproved this assumption. The discovery of the young binary star now shows that even stellar pairs have the potential to form in these harsh conditions.
“The D9 system shows clear signs of the presence of gas and dust around the stars, which suggests that it could be a very young stellar system that must have formed in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole”
explains co-author Michal Zajaček, a researcher at Masaryk University, Czechia, and the University of Cologne.
The newly discovered binary was found in a dense cluster of stars and other objects orbiting Sagittarius A*, called the S cluster. Most enigmatic in this cluster are the G objects, which behave like stars but look like clouds of gas and dust.
It was during their observations of these mysterious objects that the team found a surprising pattern in D9. The data obtained with the VLT’s ERIS instrument, combined with archival data from the SINFONI instrument, revealed recurring variations in the velocity of the star, indicating D9 was actually two stars orbiting each other.
“I thought that my analysis was wrong,” Peißker says, “but the spectroscopic pattern covered about 15 years, and it was clear this detection is indeed the first binary observed in the S cluster.”
The results shed new light on what the mysterious G objects could be. The team proposes that they might actually be a combination of binary stars that have not yet merged and the leftover material from already merged stars.
The precise nature of many of the objects orbiting Sagittarius A*, as well as how they could have formed so close to the supermassive black hole, remain a mystery. But soon, the GRAVITY+ upgrade to the VLT Interferometer and the METIS instrument on ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile, could change this. Both facilities will allow the team to carry out even more detailed observations of the Galactic centre, revealing the nature of known objects and undoubtedly uncovering more binary stars and young systems.
“Our discovery lets us speculate about the presence of planets, since these are often formed around young stars. It seems plausible that the detection of planets in the Galactic centre is just a matter of time”
concludes Peißker.
This chart shows the location of the field of view within which Sagittarius A* resides — the black hole is marked with a red circle within the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer). This map shows most of the stars visible to the unaided eye under good conditions.
** Views of Starship Flight 6 from International Space Station – NASA Johnson
While orbiting approximately 250 miles above Earth, external cameras aboard the International Space Station captured the sixth test flight of SpaceX’s Starship after liftoff at 4 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Nov. 19. For Artemis III, the first crewed return to the Moon in over 50 years, NASA is working with SpaceX to develop Starship as a lunar lander. Prior to the crewed Artemis III mission, SpaceX will perform an uncrewed landing demonstration mission on the Moon.
In his last public performance, Maestro Seiji Ozawa conducts Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, as broadcast directly to the International Space Station. His aged yet masterful conducting shows the depth and power of music in our souls. In this emotional production, he conducts the Saito Kinen Orchestra which he co-founded in 1984 as an annual gathering of musicians from around the world. This performance was transmitted by JAXA (Japanese Space Agency) directly to the ISS, where astronaut Koichi Wakata represented humanity as the audience. This One Earth Mission conveys our shared home on this One Earth, a vision that drove Maestra Ozawa throughout his musical career. The dramatic fly-over shows Italy to dusk over the Red Sea.
** NASA Astronaut Nick Hague Talks with Kansas Aviation Museum – Thursday, December 5, 2024 – NASA Video
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Nick Hague of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview Dec. 5 with the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, Kansas. Hague is a Kansas native and is in the midst of a long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.
NASA and its commercial partners continue to drive innovation in space exploration, achieving milestones that will ultimately benefit human spaceflight and commercial low Earth orbit efforts. These recent achievements from NASA’s industry partners include completed safety milestones, successful flight tests, and major technological advancements.
Russell Ralston, Axiom Space Executive Vice President of Extravehicular Activity, commented on the effort: “@CesiumAstro’s innovative approach made them an ideal teammate in the development of this crucial capability for our spacesuit. Their technology will play a vital role in… https://t.co/57HmnW0ZSK
In this episode of the SpaceNews Leading Women in Space series, correspondent Debra Werner speaks with Negar Feher, CEO, Orbital Outpost X.
Through this series SpaceNews is shining a spotlight on some of the extraordinary women at the helm of space programs and organizations. We’re delving into their backgrounds, discussing their accomplishments and highlighting their ongoing work at prime contractors, startups, government agencies, and federally funded research and development centers. We’re speaking with women in key leadership roles.
Time Markers – 00:06 – Welcome 00:41 – How would you describe Orbital Outpost X for those not familiar with the company? 02:23 – Why did you join the company? And why as CEO? 04:41 – Our commercial space stations part of the future that you see? 07:14 – What are the opportunities and challenges for your company? 10:22 – Why did you switch from working at Primes to startups? 13:03 – Do you have advice for people who may not fit the traditional stereotype looking to work in space? 21:06 – Final thoughts
Join NOVA Education for a tour of a new generation of inflatable space habitats that are being designed to allow humans to live and work in space and eventually on Mars.
Featured in NOVA’s “Building Stuff” series, Sierra Space is an aerospace company working with NASA to create an inflatable space habitat called LIFE, Large Integrated Flexible Environment. In this virtual field trip, Sierra Space engineer and program manager Beth Licavoli will walk us through the production of the inflatable habitat, explain how they test the structure of the habitat, and give us a tour inside a fully inflated habitat.
— Using space stations for semiconductor production:
Sierra Space will collaborate with Astral Materials and @Space_Forge to advance semiconductor technology in LEO. These new relationships will leverage microgravity for high-quality semiconductor crystal growth and next-generation material production.https://t.co/FSBEHlWy39pic.twitter.com/mlAQtxOztn
Haven-1’s primary structure qualification article has officially completed its final weld. The article is now ready for painting, window, and hatch integration before being shipped for pressure and load testing at our Mojave, CA test site. pic.twitter.com/2jNoyMirku
Haven-1’s 1.1m domed window is optimized for its expansive, 180-degree view of space.
Here, Joe Babcock, the responsible engineer for the domed window, conducts fit and leak testing on the unit, preparing it for installation on the Haven-1 qualification article. The final… pic.twitter.com/sSfQRVSvwA
Sierra Space will collaborate with Astral Materials and @Space_Forge to advance semiconductor technology in LEO. These new relationships will leverage microgravity for high-quality semiconductor crystal growth and next-generation material production.https://t.co/FSBEHlWy39pic.twitter.com/mlAQtxOztn
** China’s Shenzhou-19 Crew Finishes Tasks During Over-Month-Long Flight on Space Station – CCTV Video News Agency
China’s Shenzhou-19 crew members have completed various tasks during their over-one-month stay aboard the orbiting Tiangong space station, including scientific research and experiments and space station maintenance work.
The Off-world Anthropologic Space Infrastructure Settlement (OASIS) project systems engineering entails addressing the flow down of all mission/system-level requirements into every element and distributed system, orchestrating the overall design, and evaluating the efficacy of derived requirements implementation by testing, verification, and validation. Key Considerations include:
Orchestrating Symbiosis: shared control between Humans, Robots, and Advanced Autonoma In Situ Resource Utilization is learned science, engineering, and art Integrated Interoperable Sustainable Systems that translate archology from principle to practice Human Landing Systems (HLS) volume and performance metrology
The OASIS systems engineering considerations start with the launch and functional mass of everything that must be transported to the Moon. The payload volumetrics of the NASA HLS further constrain the maximum stowed volume. This resolves to a logistics train with handling requirements and allocatable mass and volume fractions for each manifested flight. The geopolitical considerations mandate that OASIS implement the letter and spirit of the Artemis Accords and maintain compliance with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
OASIS shall be scalable by expansion and replication to accommodate, at a minimum, a genetically viable human population (50+ people to combat inbreeding), implement a reasonable division of labor (50+ people to provide all the required skill sets), implement at least two-fault tolerant cross-training (3+ people for any skill set), and the capability to accommodate up to 500 people (to mitigate genetic drift). Until shelter-in-place is assured, at least one Starship per 100 people must be on the lunar surface at a given time.
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** Lunar Module Engineering: Designing for a Harsh Environment – apollo11space
Explore the engineering marvels that made the Apollo Lunar Module possible as it faced the extreme temperatures, vacuum, and dust of the moon’s surface. Learn about the innovative solutions developed for its lightweight structure, thermal control systems, landing gear, life support systems, and propulsion systems. Discover the challenges overcome and the lasting legacy of the LM on modern space exploration.
=== Other space habitat and settlement news and articles:
Amid his daily astronaut duties, Dominick dedicated personal time to this endeavor, amassing nearly 500,000 captivating photos of Earth and snapshots of life aboard the International Space Station, while having traveled 99,708,603 total statue miles around our home planet. Through his lens(es), he invited us to experience the awe of space while highlighting the realities of life in orbit, fostering an authentic connection with those who engage with his work.
Building on this commitment to connect, Dominick participated in the first-ever live X Spaces event from space, marking a new way for NASA astronauts to connect personally with followers. He shared insider tips on astrophotography from orbit and discussed the challenges and joys of capturing stunning images in microgravity. Concluding the event, he vividly narrated his live experience floating into the Cupola at sunset while orbiting over Paris just days before the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Dominick’s journey as an astronaut unfolds in real-time on his X account. He has captured the arrivals and departures of various spacecraft, documented dynamic weather events, and even participated in Olympic festivities. His stunning timelapses and behind-the-scenes videos offer an intimate look at life aboard the space station, beautifully illustrating the intricate interplay between science and wonder.
A couple of examples of his posts on X:
Moonlight illuminates Cairo and the Mediterranean on a mostly clear night.
We were up late last night sleep shifting in preparation for undocking and return to Earth in the next few days. Cairo at night is one of my favorite views. I am happy the timing worked out to see it one… pic.twitter.com/zLmVozPvfL
** Space to Ground: Six Minutes of Serenity: Nov. 27, 2024 – NASA Johnson
Take some time during this holiday season and enjoy a few minutes of serenity as we offer a glimpse of the beauty of our home planet from the vantage point of the International Space Station.
** SpaceX Dragon and the Milky Way seen from ISS in stunning time-lapse – VideoFromSpace
See the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the Milky Way galaxy in this time-lapse view from the International Space Station. Full Story: https://www.space.com/space-explorati…
** Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream) – NASA
Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.
The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It’s a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8
Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov
** What’s Up: December 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL
What are some skywatching highlights in December 2024?
This month, enjoy dazzling views of Venus as the “Evening Star,” Jupiter at its brightest during opposition, and Mars doubling in brightness, and look for the Winter Triangle. The Geminid meteor shower peaks under challenging moonlight conditions, but you might get lucky and catch a shooting star that week before sunrise!
0:00 Intro 0:14 December planet highlights 1:31 The Winter Stars 1:57 The Winter Triangle 2:42 Geminid Meteor Shower 3:14 December Moon phases
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatch….
Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal their pick of the best things to see in the night sky this month.
** Sky & Telescope’s Sky Tour Podcast – December 2024 | Jupiter Shines, Winter Stars, and Many Meteors – Sky & Telescope Youtube
Our monthly Sky Tour #astronomy #podcast provides an informative and entertaining 10-minute guided tour of the #night #sky. Join us for the December 2024 episode and mark the #solstice, be amazed by #Jupiter, welcome the arrival of winter’s bright #stars, and prep for what’s usually the year’s best #meteorshower.
Listen and subscribe to this podcast at https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/ and don’t forget to subscribe to S&T’s YouTube channel to get alerts about new videos, including this monthly podcast.
