IRS 3 Archives

This image showcases the location of the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole. The data in this image were taken with Webb programmes #1939 (J. Lu), #3571 (F. Yusef-Zadeh), #2491 (N. B. Sabha), and #2075 (C. Chan). Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, F. Peißker, J. Lu, F. Yusef-Zadeh, N. B. Sabha, C. Chan Larger image

Dust And Water Found Around The Milky Way’s Central Black Hole

by Keith CowingAugust 17, 2026August 17, 2026

[ESA] The new observations provide the most detailed mid-infrared view yet of the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way […]

Mid-infrared image of the IRS 3 environment, observed with NACO (VLT) and MIRI/MRS (JWST). The background image is in the L band (3.6 μm), the yellow inset shows a slice from the channel 3 long data cube covering 15.41−17.98 μm. The light blue boxes highlight an area of 1.6″ × 1.6″. A yellow × marks the SMBH Sgr A*, located at RA 17h45m40.05s and Dec −29:00:28.120. The projected distance between Sgr A* and IRS 3 is about 4.4 arcsec, corresponding to 0.17 parsec. The NACO field of view (FOV) is about 13.5″ × 6.5″. In both the NACO and MIRI MRS images, the emission from IRS 3 is dominated by the extended envelope of the AGB star. -- University of Cologne

Astrochemistry

A Stellar Envelope Near The Black Hole Sgr A* Contains Water

by Keith CowingAugust 12, 2026August 12, 2026

[University of Cologne] Studies of the star IRS 3, located near the black hole at the centre of our galaxy, suggest that the star is emitting large quantities of gas […]

This image features data from Webb’s NIRCam

Astrochemistry

Astrochemistry: Dust And Water Spotted Close To A Giant Black Hole

by Keith CowingAugust 11, 2026August 11, 2026

[ESA]. Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to the supermassive black hole […]