Submitted by syynnnxxz t3_11tidsb in askscience
Brett707 t1_jcnapb0 wrote
The Galactic Center of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*, which has a mass of approximately 4 million times that of our Sun. While the black hole itself does not spin, the material around it certainly does.
The rotational speed of the material orbiting Sagittarius A* depends on its distance from the black hole. At a distance of about 0.01 light-years (0.003 parsecs) from the black hole, stars in the vicinity orbit Sagittarius A* with speeds of around 1,000 kilometers per second (621 miles per second). However, at a distance of about 1 light-year (0.3 parsecs), the orbital speed of stars drops to around 200 kilometers per second (124 miles per second).
It's important to note that these speeds are relative to the black hole itself, as there is no absolute reference frame in space. Additionally, the orbits of the stars around Sagittarius A* are influenced by the gravity of other stars and objects in the vicinity, which can cause their paths to be perturbed and altered over time.
syynnnxxz OP t1_jcnoyhu wrote
Is there any way to translate that into a rough orbit time? I'm not particularly knowledgeable about math but knowing the speed of the orbit + the length of the orbit should give me the ability to estimate how long an single revolution would take at varying distances... right?
KWillets t1_jcqb6kf wrote
Mass, Spin, and Charge are the three parameters which define a Kerr black hole.
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