Sagittarius A* (pronounced "Sagittarius A-star", standard abbreviation
Sgr A*) is a bright and very compact
astronomical radio source at the
center of the
Milky Way, near the border of the constellations
Sagittarius and
Scorpius. It is part of a larger astronomical feature known as
Sagittarius A. Sagittarius A* is believed to be the location of a
supermassive black hole, like those that are now generally accepted to be at the centers of most
spiral and
elliptical galaxies. Observations of the star
S2 in orbit around Sagittarius A* have been used to show the presence of, and produce data about, the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole, and have led to the conclusion that Sagittarius A* is the site of that black hole.