Webb Telescope Discovers Dust and Water Surviving Near Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have found that dust and water can form and persist surprisingly close to Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Observations of the evolved star IRS 3, located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, revealed clear signatures of oxygen-rich dust and, for the first time, water in its surrounding envelope. This discovery indicates that even in the extreme environment near a supermassive black hole, evolved stars can still produce materials crucial for the formation of future stars and planets.