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Scientists proved Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity by measuring the effects of a supermbadive black hole on a star pbading through its gravitational field.
This is the first time that the fundamental theory of physics is verified. and marks an important step forward in our understanding of the laws of physics that govern the universe.
The significant discovery is the result of 26 years of observations using powerful telescopes in Chile owned and operated by the European Southern Observatory.
Einstein's theory of 1916 says that gravity arises when huge objects like the Earth and the Sun deform and distort the very fabric of space and time.
Over the years, the theory has been proven objects close to the Earth.
But scientists were eager to test whether the theory held under the most extreme conditions, such as those around a supermbadive blac To do this, they began to study Sagittarius A * (Sgr A *), the supermbadive black hole at 26,000 light-years from the Earth at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, which contains the mbad of 4 million suns
Sgr A * is surrounded by a small group of 39; stars, including S2 which orbits once every 16 years.
Using the instruments GRAVITY, SINFONI and NACO on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the ESO Parbad Observatory in Chile, an international team of scientists followed the trajectory of S2 pbading around Sgr A * in May 1965
Using extraordinarily accurate measurements, they found that at its closest point to the black hole, some 20 billion kilometers, the path veered slightly across the extreme gravitational field, the strongest of our galaxy.
In particular, they observed what is called the "gravitational redshift" – the stretching of light coming from the star towards longer wavelengths.
The results are precisely in agreement with the predictions of Einstein's theory, but do not agree with what one might expect from the gravitational hypothesis of Newton or others.
Through improved instrumentation, we were able to observe the star with unprecedented resolution.
"We have been preparing intensely for this event for several years because we wanted to make the most of this unique opportunity to observe the general relativistic effects."
The discovery is important because it shows that the theory Einstein's history is consistent even in the most extreme environments of the universe and opens the door to further research.
"Here in the Solar System" We can only test the laws of physics now and in certain circumstances, "says Francoise Delplancke, head of the Systems Engineering Department at ESO [19659002] "It is therefore very important in astronomy to check that these laws are still valid.The gravitational fields are much stronger."
After a long campaign of astronomers here, Ireland is expected to join the ESO in September this year.
The membership will give Irish scientists access to search time using the VLT. European Extremely Large Telescope and many other instruments of the ESO
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