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A star travelling at an exceptionally high velocity (i.e. more than about 65 km/s) relative to the Sun. High-velocity stars are very old stars that do not share the motion of the Sun and most stars in the solar neighbourhood in circular orbits around the centre of the Galaxy. Rather, they travel in elliptical orbits, which often take them well outside the plane of the Galaxy. Although their orbital velocities in the Galaxy may be no faster than the Sun's, their different paths result in the high relative velocities.
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