Astronomers have spotted displays of flashing lights and “fireworks” near a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, a finding researchers said could reveal details about how black holes—among the most mysterious objects in space—behave and interact with their environment.

A new James Webb Space Telescope study finds that Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way's central black hole, constantly emits light from its swirling accretion disk. Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Ralf Crawford (STScI) illustration Scientists have discovered that the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way buzzes with activity,

A team of astrophysicists have found flares of light in Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way.

Observations revealed ongoing fireworks featuring short bursts and longer flares. Imagine solar flares, but magnified to an unimaginable scale — a continuous sparkle bright enough to shine across 26,000 light-years of space.

The supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy may not be as voracious as the gas-gobbling monsters that astronomers have seen farther out in the Universe, but new findings from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveal that its surroundings are flaring with fireworks.