James Webb Telescope Captures Unprecedented Flares from Milky Way’s Black Hole

New observations reveal Sagittarius A* emitting frequent and varied bursts of light, offering fresh insights into black hole behavior.

The James Webb Space Telescope has observed Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way's central black hole, emitting up to six large flares daily, alongside smaller bursts of light.
These flares originate from the accretion disk, a ring of gas and plasma swirling near the black hole's event horizon, and vary in brightness and duration.
Researchers attribute smaller flares to turbulence in the disk's magnetized gas, while larger flares are likely caused by magnetic reconnection events releasing high-energy particles.
Observations revealed a time delay between flares at different wavelengths, offering clues about energy dissipation and particle behavior near the black hole.
The study, based on 48 hours of data collected over a year, marks the most detailed examination of Sagittarius A* to date and could deepen understanding of black hole dynamics.