ESOcast 173: First Successful Test of Einstein’s General Relativity Near Supermassive Black Hole

Observations made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope 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.

Credit:

ESO

Directed by: Calum Turner and Herbert Zodet.
Editing: Herbert Zodet.
Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida.
Written by: Calum Turner and Richard Hook.
Narration: Sara Mendes da Costa.
Music: STAN DART (www.stan-dart.com) and Johan B. Monell (www.johanmonell.com).
Footage and photos: ESO, MPE, M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada, spaceengine.org, N. Risinger (skysurvey.org), Digitized Sky Survey 2, GRAVITY Collaboration, C. Malin (christophmalin.com), Liam Young/Unknown Fields, Gianluca Lombardi (glphoto.it), B. Tafreshi (twanight.org), Naumann Film GmbH (naumann-film.de), H. Zodet and John Colosimo (colosimophotography.com).
Executive producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen.