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Triple-star System Passes near Milky Way's Central Black Hole

This illustration shows one possible mechanism for how the star HE 0437-5439 acquired enough energy to be ejected from our Milky Way galaxy.

In this scenario, a triple-star system, consisting of a close binary system and another outer member bound to the group, is orbiting near the galaxy's monster black hole. One star is captured by the black hole and the tightly bound pair gets ejected from the galaxy. As the duo speeds through the galaxy, one member evolves more quickly and consumes the other. The resulting rejuvenated star, massive and very blue, is called a blue straggler.

  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    HE 0437-5439
  • Release Date
    July 22, 2010
  • Science Release
    Hyperfast Star Was Booted from Milky Way
    Read the release
  • Credits
    Illustration: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI); Science: NASA, ESA, O. Gnedin (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), and W. Brown (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass.)

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Related Images & Videos

Going, Going, Gone: Star Leaves the Milky Way

Going, Going, Gone: Star Leaves the Milky Way

In this illustration, the hot, blue star HE 0437-5439 has been tossed out of the center of our Milky Way galaxy with enough speed to escape the galaxy's gravitational clutches. The stellar outcast is rocketing through the Milky Way's distant outskirts at 1.6 million miles an...

A Speeding Star is Caught on Hubble's Camera

A Speeding Star is Caught on Hubble's Camera

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the hypervelocity star that was kicked out of the center of our Milky Way galaxy with enough energy to escape the galaxy's gravitational grip. Dubbed HE 0437-5439, the stellar speedster may have been a member of a triple-star system...

Compass/Scale Image of Hypervelocity Star HE 0437-5439

Compass/Scale Image of Hypervelocity Star HE 0437-5439

Location of Hypervelocity Star HE 0437-5439

Location of Hypervelocity Star HE 0437-5439

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Last Updated
Feb 17, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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