Astronomers are confirming that Einstein`s theory of relativity is true, as they have observed a star is dancing around an enormous black hole. A very large telescope from the European Southern Observatory confirmed that the star`s orbit has a rosette-like shape. This proves Einstein`s theory of relativity.

Reinhard Genzel, a director of Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, said that this theory of relativity suggests that bound orbits of an object around another were not closed.

The theory of relativity was first proven when Mercury was orbiting the Sun. Years later, there is an observation of a star orbiting around Sagittarius A* right at the center of the Milky Way. This observation proves that Sagittarius A* is an enormous black hole with 4 million times bigger mass than the Sun. Sagittarius A* is 26.000 light-years away from the Sun and is found at the center of the galaxy.

There are dense stars around the black hole. S2 is the closest star that orbits the black hole. It needs 16 light-years to make an orbit around the black hole. After observing two full orbits of the star, astronomers confirmed that the star`s orbits are not like circles. S2 orbit around the black hole changes, which creates the rosette shape.

The theory of relativity also helped astronomers to study through the area at the center of the galaxy and to determine how the star approaches the black hole.

In the future, the Extremely Large Telescope from the European Southern Observatory will observe smaller stars that orbit the black hole. If astronomers capture closer stars to the black hole, they would be able to measure mass and spin, determining time and space around Sagittarius A*.

Source:  CNN