The Proper Motion of Sgr A*

Details The Proper Motion of Sgr A* The Proper Motion of Sgr A*

Dec 2005

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005aspc..340..253r&link_type=abstract

Future Directions in High Resolution Astronomy: The 10th Anniversary of the VLBA, ASP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 340. Edited

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

5

Scientific paper

We have now been measuring the position of sgramjr, the candidate super-massive black hole at the center of the Galaxy, with the VLBA for about 8 years. sgramjr appears to move almost entirely along the Galactic Plane at a rate of 6.37±0.02 masyrmjr. For a distance to the Galactic Center of 8.0±0.5 kpc, this translates to 241±15 kmsmjr, consistent with that expected for a stationary object observed from the Sun as it orbits the Galactic Center. The motion of sgramjr\ out of the plane of the Galaxy, after removing the 7 kmsmjr motion of the Sun in that direction, is less than about 2 kmsmjr. Combining stellar orbital information (measured in the infrared) with the upper limit of 2 kmsmjr for the intrinsic proper motion of sgramjr (perpendicular to the Galactic plane), places a lower limit on the mass of sgramjr of 2×106 Msunmjr. Thus, most of the mass sensed by stellar orbits is tied to the compact radio source sgramjr, whose size is less than 1 AU, yielding the strongest case ever for a SMBH. This also argues against ``exotic'' forms of mass, postulated to explain the extreme mass concentration at the Galactic Center.

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