Baby Star Found Near Galaxy's Violent Center

The youngest star ever found near the Milky Way's centre is deepening a mystery over how stars could take shape in such a turbulent environment.

Several groups of massive young stars have been found within 100 light years of the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's centre (see Massive stars can grow near black holes). The innermost stars lie in a group less than 3 light years from the black hole and appear to be just 6 million years old, based on the spectra of their light.