Milky Way galaxy

February 19, 2025 4:22 PM

Webb Telescope provides unprecedented view of our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is providing the best look yet at the chaotic events unfolding around the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, observing a steady flickering of light punctuated by occasional bright flares as material is drawn inward by its enormous gravitational pull. Webb, which was launched in 2021 and began collecting data in 2022, is enabling astronomers to observe the region around the black hole - called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A* - for extended ...

November 6, 2024 12:31 PM

Webb telescope reveals rapid growth of primordial black hole

At the heart of our Milky Way galaxy lurks a supermassive black hole about four million times the mass of the sun, called Sagittarius A*. In fact, these objects, which increase in mass over time by eating material that wanders too close, reside at the center of most galaxies. But since NASA's James Webb Space Telescope came online in 2022, astronomers have been surprised to find supermassive black holes inhabiting the early universe - earlier than they had thought possible considering the time ...

July 9, 2024 5:36 PM

Rotten eggs chemical detected on Jupiter-like alien planet

The planet known as HD 189733b, discovered in 2005, already had a reputation as a rather extreme place, a scorching hot gas giant a bit larger than Jupiter that is a striking cobalt blue color and has molten glass rain that blows sideways in its fierce atmospheric winds. So how can you top that? Add hydrogen sulfide, the chemical compound behind the stench of rotten eggs. Researchers said on Monday new data from the James Webb Space Telescope is giving a fuller picture of HD 189733b, already am...

June 18, 2024 11:25 PM

Scientists witness a dormant supermassive black hole roar to life

At the center of the Milky Way galaxy resides a supermassive black hole four million times the mass of our sun called Sagittarius A* that some scientists have called a gentle giant because of its quiescence. But someday it could become a beast. Researchers said on Tuesday they have observed in real time a dramatic brightening at the heart of another galaxy apparently caused by a supermassive black hole awakening from dormancy and beginning to gorge itself with nearby material. It marks the firs...