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It is said that at the center of every galaxy is a supermassive black hole (the picture below shows a picture towards the center of the Milky Way from the Keck Observatory). By observing the orbits of nearby stars, you can get a crude estimate of the mass of this black hole by assuming the stars have a circular orbit. Consider the star SO-2, which has an orbital period of 16.3 years. Its average distance from the black hole is 5.89 light-days (1 light-year -9.46x 1012 km). Estimate the mass of the black hole in solar masses (1 Ms 1.989 x 1030 kg).
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