A brilliant concentration of stars takes center stage in this Aug. 11, 2026, image taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb observed IRS 3, a star near the end of its life cycle, located within this starfield. Webb’s mid-infrared data revealed the clear signature of oxygen-rich silicate dust, as well as, for the first
Details of observations Our observations, from which we inferred S301, comprise 19 datasets spanning more than 8 years. We first noted S301 in 2023, when pointing directly to Sgr A*. Given the position of the star close to Sgr A* and its large proper motion, it was clear that it might be on a tight orbit,
