James Webb Detects Water in Dust Envelope of Dying Star Near Milky Way’s Center

On September 11, 2026, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured a sharp image of IRS 3, a late‑stage star located in the dense starfield surrounding Sagittarius A*. Webb’s mid‑infrared observations revealed a clear signature of oxygen‑rich silicate dust in the star’s surrounding envelope and, for the first time, detected water vapor within that same dust cloud. The discovery confirms that water can survive in the harsh, high‑energy environment near the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole. It also provides a new laboratory for studying the chemistry of dust and gas in the Galactic Center, where conditions differ markedly from the quieter regions of the galaxy.