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Astronomers utilizing the James Webb Space Telescope have observed energetic bursts of light emanating from the supermassive black hole located at the core of the Milky Way galaxy. This constant and rapid display features short flashes lasting just seconds and longer, brilliantly bright emissions occurring daily.

These observations represent the most comprehensive and extended examination of the region surrounding Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way’s central black hole, expanding upon previously documented signs of its energetic behavior.

Although black holes themselves cannot be seen, the illumination produced by the turbulent disk of hot gas and dust encircling Sagittarius A* creates a spectacular display. A study detailing these intriguing results was released on Tuesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Researchers speculate that the bursts originate from the inner edge of the accretion disk, just past the event horizon of the black hole— the region where gravitational forces are so intense that not even light can escape, as explained by NASA.

“In our data, we observed a continuously shifting, bubbling brightness,” said Farhad Yusef-Zadeh, the lead author and a physics and astronomy professor at Northwestern University. “Then, suddenly, a significant flash of brightness would appear and then subside again. We couldn’t identify a consistent pattern in this activity; it seems random. Each observation of the black hole presented something thrilling and unique.”

These findings may provide insights into how black holes function and the methods by which they consume matter from their surroundings.

The substantial gravitational pull of black holes attracts gas and dust from any nearby celestial bodies. As this matter swirls at high velocities, it forms the accretion disk that nourishes the black hole. The fast movement of this material generates heat, which is released as radiation and jets of matter that do not fall into the black hole.

This radiation and the jets can alter gas distribution within galaxies and foster star formation, leading to supermassive black holes being recognized as colossal engines at the centers of galaxies.

Yusef-Zadeh and his team monitored Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, for 48 hours over the span of a year in 8 to 10-hour sessions, utilizing Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera to observe the black hole’s activity. They detected five to six large flares daily, along with smaller bursts in between.

“Flares are expected in nearly all supermassive black holes, but ours is exceptional,” said Yusef-Zadeh. “It is perpetually active and never settles into a steady state. Every time we observed it in 2023 and 2024, we noted unique variations, which is extraordinary.”

The fluctuating behavior of the black hole’s activity likely results from the unpredictability of the material entering the accretion disk, Yusef-Zadeh noted.

The researchers suspect that the brief flashes of light are produced by minor turbulent fluctuations within the accretion disk that compress hot, energetic gas, known as plasma, causing a burst of radiation.

“This is akin to how the Sun’s magnetic field gathers and then erupts in a solar flare,” Yusef-Zadeh explained. “Of course, the processes are much more dramatic around a black hole’s environment due to its extreme energy levels.”

Conversely, the larger, prolonged flares might arise from magnetic reconnection events, which occur when two different magnetic fields converge near the black hole, releasing high-energy particles moving at nearly the speed of light.

“A magnetic reconnection event is comparable to a static electricity spark, which also functions as an ‘electric reconnection,’” Yusef-Zadeh noted.

The advanced capabilities of the Webb telescope allowed the team to observe the black hole’s flares across two distinct wavelengths of light simultaneously.

“It was like viewing the universe in color rather than black and white, revealing rainbows,” Yusef-Zadeh remarked. “This insight provides deeper understanding of flaring phenomena and the underlying dynamics, including the nature of radiation mechanisms, magnetic fields, and flare density.”

The observations have enriched our understanding of how the black hole’s brightness varies over time, according to Tuan Do, an associate professor in the physics and astronomy department at UCLA.

Although Do did not participate in this study, he has previously researched Sagittarius A*, particularly during its unusual activity in 2019.

“Sgr A* showed about half the brightness in recent data compared to its state in 2019, indicating that its previous activity was notably intense,” Do explained. “However, the black hole and its surroundings are in constant flux, making it difficult to predict what we might observe, which adds to the excitement of exploring the galactic center, even after decades of observation.”

The recent observations indicated that when the authors analyzed both wavelengths of light from the black hole at once, the shorter wavelength exhibited variations in brightness just prior to those of the longer wavelength. This finding hints that as particles spin around magnetic field lines, they lose energy at an accelerated rate.

Changes in brightness have been observed in previous studies and are supported by additional data from the Mid-Infrared Instrument on the Webb telescope and other observatories.

“The next significant step would be to try and connect these different data sources to create a comprehensive understanding of the physics surrounding the supermassive black hole,” Do proposed.

The new research further establishes that the black hole exhibits “continuous variability,” as previously noted, according to Mark Morris, a distinguished research professor in the physics and astronomy department at UCLA. Morris did not take part in the latest research.

“X-ray astronomers have found convincing evidence that over the last few centuries, there have been at least one or two instances of massive flares occurring,” Morris stated via email, “with intensities 10,000 to 100,000 times greater than any activity observed in the last 25 years of studying Sgr A* closely.”

What triggered these powerful flares remains unknown, but astronomers speculate that the black hole may have consumed a planet several hundred years ago, Morris suggested.

While solar storms from our Sun can cause concerns on Earth, affecting GPS, communications, and power systems, the highly energetic and fluctuating activity of the central black hole in our galaxy, located 25,000 light-years away, isn’t a worry, according to Morris.

Nonetheless, observations from the Webb telescope provide valuable insights into the “storms” generated when matter is compressed and heated as it approaches the black hole.

“Beyond the sheer fascination with the universe’s most brilliant displays, these phenomena significantly impact galaxy evolution,” Morris emphasized. “They can encourage or hinder star formation and erase gas, potentially hindering galaxies’ ability to produce stars.”

The study’s authors do not believe the black hole was undergoing an unusual surge of activity, but they intend to monitor Sagittarius A* continuously for 24 hours to confirm this.

“We also want to determine whether these flares exhibit any periodic patterns or are genuinely random in nature,” Yusef-Zadeh added.

While the precise speed of Sagittarius A* as it devours matter remains uncertain, longer observation periods could yield essential data to answer this question.

Ultimately, further data collected through Webb’s observations of Sagittarius A* could assist astronomers in modeling the behavior of accretion disks around black holes while allowing comparisons between the dynamics of less active black holes and those displaying higher activity.