Webb Catches Black Hole Fireworks

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the most detailed look yet at the heart of our galaxy. Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at its core, is constantly flaring with no breaks.

Webb’s NIRCam observed the black hole over the course of a year, revealing unpredictable bursts of light. Scientists believe smaller flickers come from turbulence, while the biggest flares result from magnetic fields colliding.

These findings help us better understand how black holes shape their surroundings. Sagittarius A* is more active than expected, offering a rare look at the forces driving our galaxy.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Lead Producer: Paul Morris
Opening Black Hole Visualization:
Producer: Scott Wiessinger
Visualizer:Jeremy Schnittman
Computer support: Brian Powell
Paper is by F. Yusef-Zadeh and will be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

Music Credit:
"Miniature Universe" by Geoffrey Wilkinson [PRS] via True Stories [PRS], and Universal Production Music.

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[anomalousresult]

I think we still take for granted the achievement of getting such an instrument in such a place. Amazing the science we're getting from it.

[roybarron]

The Majesty of the cosmos It's humbling

[iamdmc]

I love how at 2:11 the closed captions read [ NASA Meatball ]
I guess that's the official name for the NASA logo?

[NunoPereira.]

Excellent work JWST!! Congratulations!

[Postgrom]

It's amazing how we have the opportunity to see something so far away and learn from it. Thanks to science and scientists for everything!

[ommaraftab]

Love how we are discovering new space things. Imagine the knowlege about space in 100 years.

[paultheriault]

Day after day you men and women are SO enriching our views of the universe….thank you so much for your timely and selfless service to us all….❤️❤️❤️👌😊

[fe.lipemota]

Smart idea to study Sagittarius A* using the Webb!

[mortalclown]

If possible, we'd love longer videos: most of us are far from being astrophysicists, but hey... we love JWST to Earendel and back.

[vandnasingh]

Thank you. Thank you. For once the video showed exactly what the title promised!! Usually people re re rehash stuff from other people's videos and present utter rubbish. Thank you. Great video.

[SolaceEasy]

I'm not quite as old as the Sun, but my flickers are irregular now too.

[Hybridog]

I figured those big bursts were just from an entire planet getting spaghettied and sucked in.

[borg.ia]

Great work! Personally I hope these studies might help even with new engines, mass and energy storage for spaceships.
Meanwhile Mr. Strominger argues for telescopes on the Moon/proximity to be able to see the photon rings of Sagittarius A*. I guess that endeavor would be useful for other observations as well.

[ReadHersh-fz]

Dark Matter Particles or Waves still think Neutralinos, Axions, or Graviton are present in Black Hole Mergers

[Erik-rphi]

Could the differences in magnitude also be cause by the orientation to earth, like a Pulsar?

[mllruss]

How about the explosion of stars and other stellar materials as they approach the event horizon? That would explain the randomness of the lights and the power of such a large hole would absorb much of any activity that tried to escape its gravity

[samsmith]

I recon there more likely to be wormholes, intergalactic highways

[kalavatalajahnavi]

So can these plasma bursts, high velocity particle, can they destroy a space craft whose material is known to us. Does this radiation equals any stars flares.

So, my question 2 is, as known black hole has highest gravity, why do these particles and radiation escape the backhoe gravity.

[Strikerokk]

Somebody is fixing that black hole with welding 🥽

[mazarnazar]

Fireworks the size of billions of miles 😂