A chosen stellar-orbit mass estimate
ID: a-chosen-stellar-orbit-mass-estimate
Choose , arcseconds, years, and degrees. The small-angle conversion gives . Taking one model year as days gives and .
Dividing by the nominal solar mass parameter, , gives nominal solar masses. The nominal parameter is an exact conversion convention, rather than an assertion that the Sun's measured mass is exact.[ref]
Resolution B3 on recommended nominal conversion constants for selected solar and planetary properties by International Astronomical Union. PDF pp.2–3, exact nominal solar mass parameter and conversion recommendation
The chosen periapsis radius is . Its corresponding Schwarzschild radius, , is about . Thus this illustrative orbit remains roughly Schwarzschild radii from the centre at closest approach. Inferring a very concentrated mass from such an orbit is different from directly resolving its event horizon. Every number here follows from the chosen orbit, not from a fit to the actual Galactic-centre measurements.
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