VISUAL ARCHIVE / IMAGE STORY
One Encounter, Two Futures
A disrupted binary can leave one star bound and give another enough energy to escape.
The moment of separation. Artist's interpretation of two stars encountering the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, with one captured into a curved orbit while the other escapes toward the outer galaxy.
THE OBSERVATION
What we can actually see.
The Hills mechanism transfers orbital energy during a close encounter between a binary and a massive black hole. S5-HVS1’s measured motion supports a Galactic Center origin, while the original encounter and companion must be reconstructed from evidence.
THE ILLUSTRATION
What the artwork imagines.
The composition visualizes this idea: A disrupted binary can leave one star bound and give another enough energy to escape. The moment of separation. Artist's interpretation of two stars encountering the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, with one captured into a curved orbit while the other escapes toward the outer galaxy.
FROM THE ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE
The story that inspired it.
The article follows S5-HVS1’s measured motion back toward the Galactic Center and introduces the Hills mechanism. It asks how one disrupted partnership could leave both a runaway star and a tightly bound companion without requiring either star to be swallowed. This frame focuses on a disrupted binary can leave one star bound and give another enough energy to escape.
Read The Black Hole That Tore Two Stars Apart and Sent One Into Eternal ExileCHECK THE RECORD
The image interprets the research below. Follow the original work for the measurements and limits behind the scene.
Research record: doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz3081 Research record: doi.org/10.1038/331687a0 Research record: www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Gaia_spots_stars_flying_between_galaxies Research record: www.hq.eso.org/public/news/eso1825/ Research record: www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Five_fascinating_Gaia_revelations_about_the_Milky_WayOTHER IMAGE STORIES
Keep looking.
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The Star Leaving Home
The Mark Shared by Titan and PlutoEXPLORE IN 3D / MAP G-01
Follow a star around Sagittarius A*
Follow an S2-inspired orbit and experiment with a released probe near Sagittarius A*. These teaching paths illustrate gravity; they do not reconstruct the original S5-HVS1 binary encounter.
Open Sagittarius A* map