Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, Northwestern astrophysicists gained the longest, most detailed glimpse yet of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

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.

NASA's flagship space telescope captured flares from the disk of superheated material around the black hole, revealing the dynamic—and explosive—physics at our galaxy's core.