There may be planets around the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, scientists say

There may be planets orbiting the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy – and we may be ready to find them, scientists say.

That hope comes after researchers discovered the first-ever star near a supermassive black hole. That black hole happens to be Sagittarius A*, the one at the center of the Milky Way.

The findings not only shed light on such stars, and how they can survive in such harsh environments. And it suggests we might be able to find planets there, too.

In the past, scientists have speculated that stars might even be able to survive in the harsh environment surrounding a supermassive black hole. Small stars discovered nearby suggest that's not true, however, and that even pairs of stars are able to thrive – if briefly – in such an environment.

Therefore, scientists believe that the outer planets can live there, too. Researchers hope to be able to see them with future missions including the development of the Very Large Telescope and the Very Large Telescope.

“Our discovery makes us think about the existence of planets, as these usually form around young stars. It seems reasonable that the discovery of planets in the Galactic center is only a matter of time,” said Florian Peißker, a researcher at the University of Cologne, Germany, and lead author of the new study.

The work is described in a new paper, 'A binary system in the S cluster around the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*', published in the journal. Natural Communication.