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Webb Reveals Rapid-Fire Light Show From Milky Way's Central Black Hole

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February 18, 2025 11:00AM (EST)Release ID: 2025-110
A large, black circle representing a black hole occupies the right third of the frame in this illustration. Thick, clumpy orange streaks arc above and below it, essentially surrounding it. The top arc extends down to the lower left and then curves around in front of the black hole to form a disk that is tilted toward the viewer. Near the inner edge of the disk, several bright, whiter spots have blue filaments looping above them, representing flares. The words “Artist’s Concept” appear in the bottom left corner in gray.

Summary

Observations revealed ongoing fireworks featuring short bursts and longer flares.

Imagine solar flares, but on a mind-boggling scale. A constant scintillation that is bright enough to shine across 26,000 light-years of space. And interspersed between the flickers, brilliant flashes that spew out on a daily basis.

Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have spotted this activity in the center of our galaxy. The source is the accretion disk around the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole. Webb detected brightness changes over remarkably short timescales, meaning they are coming from the black hole’s inner disk, not far beyond its event horizon.

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Full Article

The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way appears to be having a party, complete with a disco ball-style light show. Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a team of astrophysicists has gained the longest, most detailed glimpse yet of the “void” that lurks in the middle of our galaxy. They found that the swirling disk of gas and dust (or accretion disk) orbiting the central supermassive black hole, called Sagittarius A*, is emitting a constant stream of flares with no periods of rest. The level of activity occurs over a wide range of time — from short ...

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News releases highlighting the discoveries of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are produced for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, under NASA Contract NAS5-03127. News release content is developed by the News Team in STScI’s Office of Public Outreach.

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