Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery about the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, Sagittarius A*. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers found that this black hole is constantly streaming out cosmic flares without respite. These flares are not just faint flickers but can rage for months at a time.
The team leader and Northwestern University researcher Farhad Yusef-Zadeh stated that the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole is unique, always bubbling with activity and never reaching a steady state. The team observed Sgr A* multiple times over two years and noticed changes in every observation, seeing something different each time.
The flares are generated by the accretion disk of Sgr A*, which forms flattened clouds of gas and dust. These clouds can generate up to 24 hours of flaring activity, but observing for such a long period is challenging due to noise interference. The team hopes to use the James Webb Space Telescope to observe Sgr A* for an uninterrupted 24 hours.
One fascinating aspect of these flares is the time delay between short-wavelength radiation events and their long-wavelength counterparts. This delay hints at accelerated particles losing energy as the flare evolves, with more energy loss occurring at shorter wavelengths.
The research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters provides new insights into the behavior around Sgr A*, a supermassive black hole that continues to fascinate scientists and astronomers.
Source: https://www.space.com/jwst-milky-way-black-hole-blowing-bubbles