First Successful Test of Einstein’s General Relativity Near Supermassive Black Hole
Published on January 28, 2019
Press release published by CNRS/UGA/Observatoire de Paris/Université Sorbonne/Université Paris Diderot
Observations of the Galactic Centre team at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) have for the first time revealed the effects predicted by Einstein’s general relativity on the motion of a star passing through the extreme gravitational field near the supermassive black hole in the centre of the Milky Way.
This long-sought result represents the climax of a 26-year-long observation campaign using ESO’s telescopes in Chile.
Obscured by thick clouds of absorbing dust, the (...)