The James Webb Space Telescope has shown that the Milky Way’s black hole is constantly blazing with light, releasing long flares as well as short flashes every day.

Astronomers have spotted displays of flashing lights and “fireworks” near a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, a finding researchers said could reveal details about how black holes—among the most mysterious objects in space—behave and interact with their environment.

Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, Northwestern astrophysicists gained the longest, most detailed glimpse yet of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

Observations revealed ongoing fireworks featuring short bursts and longer flares. Imagine solar flares, but magnified to an unimaginable scale — a continuous sparkle bright enough to shine across 26,000 light-years of space.

NASA's flagship space telescope captured flares from the disk of superheated material around the black hole, revealing the dynamic—and explosive—physics at our galaxy's core.

Astronomer Yusef-Zadeh explained that flares are expected in all supermassive black holes, but Sagittarius A is unique. Unlike others, it is constantly active and never settles into a steady state. Observations made throughout 2023 and 2024 revealed changes every time, with each viewing showing something new.

New observations using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveal a "unique" ongoing, rapid-fire light show at the center of our galaxy.

The supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy may not be as voracious as the gas-gobbling monsters that astronomers have seen farther out in the Universe, but new findings from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveal that its surroundings are flaring with fireworks.