James Webb Telescope Reveals Black Hole's Continuous Light Flares

Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, exhibits constant flaring activity, providing new insights into black hole dynamics and their surrounding environments.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observed Sagittarius A* for 48 hours over a year, capturing continuous flares from the black hole's accretion disk.
Flares ranged from faint, seconds-long flickers to bright, daily eruptions and even subtle activity lasting months, with no discernible pattern.
Researchers attribute short flares to minor turbulence in the accretion disk and longer, brighter flares to magnetic reconnection events releasing high-energy particles.
Simultaneous observations at two infrared wavelengths revealed a time delay in brightness changes, offering clues about energy loss in particles near the black hole.
Astronomers propose a 24-hour uninterrupted observation to reduce noise and investigate whether the flares are random or periodic.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation