James Webb Telescope Detects Water Near Black Hole at Dying Star's Location

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected active gas emissions and the formation of water molecules around IRS 3, a dying star located near the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at the center of the Milky Way. The discovery demonstrates that the building blocks of future stars and planets can form even under extreme gravitational stress and intense radiation. IRS 3 is currently in the asymptotic giant branch phase—the final stage of its life cycle. During this period, the star expands significantly, surface temperatures drop, and it loses substantial mass through intense stellar winds. The object is positioned approximately 0.55 light-years from the galactic center's black hole. Astrophysicist Aleksey Rudnev: "We see how a star, on the verge of death, continues to actively 'seed' matter around itself. This proves that fundamental dust synthesis processes do not stop even under the strongest gravitational perturbations."