The Milky Way's black hole kicked a star out of our galaxy

[brooklynite]

CNN

Astronomers have spotted a star speeding through our galaxy at more than 3,728,227 mph. And in 100 million years, it will leave the Milky Way for good.

But where did it come from and why is it in such a hurry to leave? Astronomers using the 3.9-meter Anglo-Australian Telescope at the Australian National University's Siding Spring Observatory discovered the star and conducted follow-up measurements to track its path.

The findings about the star published Tuesday in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

"We traced this star's journey back to the center of our galaxy, which is pretty exciting," said Gary Da Costa, study author and professor at the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. This star is traveling at record-breaking speed -- 10 times faster than most stars in the Milky Way, including our Sun.

The astronomers were looking for the remains of small galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. The telescope they were using can measure about 400 targets at a time. Instead, they found a star on the outskirts of the galaxy that had been kicked there by the supermassive black hole at the center. The black hole is known as Sagittarius A* or Sgr A*. The black hole is 4.2 million times more massive than our sun.

[Aristus]

1. If you're not going to pull your weight, and display the necessary gravity

out you go.