A Diffraction-Limited View of the Galaxy's Central Parsec

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

AST 9988397 Ghez Near-infrared imaging of the region immediately surrounding the dynamical center of our Galaxy with the Keck 10-meter telescope over the last four years has yielded precise proper motion measurements of 90 stars. The observed stellar velocities provide an accurate measure of the mass of a central black hole. The ability to measure the orbital accelerations of a number of stars near the black hole opens a new range of possibilities for exploring the environment of a black hole in a galactic nucleus. Drs. Andrea Ghez and Mark Morris of the University of California at Los Angeles will obtain speckle imaging and adaptive optics near-infrared spectra of stars within a few arcsec of the Galactic Center in order to determine stellar orbits. Knowing the orbits of several stars will constrain the possible presence and position of a black hole near the unique radio wavelength source Sgr A*. This award is made through the Galactic Astronomy Program. ***