JWST Finds IRS 3 Sheds Earth’s Mass Every 18 Days 0.6 Light-Years From Sgr A*
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · Aug 16
JWST Finds IRS 3 Sheds Earth’s Mass Every 18 Days 0.6 Light-Years From Sgr A*
3 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · Aug 16
Summary
JWST data show IRS 3 is in a late-life “superwind” phase, ejecting gas and dust at a rate equal to Earth’s mass about every 18 days near the Milky Way’s central black hole.
That extreme mass loss appears to be inflating an envelope about 10,000 astronomical units wide, making IRS 3 unusually large and dense for a star in the crowded region around Sagittarius A*.
MIRI observations also detected water inside the envelope, reinforcing the recent finding that molecules can survive just 0.6 light-years from Sgr A* despite the harsh radiation environment.
The results, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, suggest IRS 3 is feeding molecular material into the galactic center; future ELT observations with METIS aim to map the envelope in more detail.