Where the water is
An ESA/Webb announcement on 11 August describes water and dust in the envelope around IRS 3, an evolved star near the Milky Way's central black hole. Webb's mid-infrared spectroscopy supplied information about the surrounding material. The water belongs to the stellar environment, not to an ocean inside the black hole. [1]
Reading a chemical fingerprint
A telescope need not resolve a familiar-looking object to identify some of its ingredients. Spectroscopy examines how light varies with wavelength. In this case, the useful story lies in the signatures of material surrounding a star, rather than in a photograph resembling water on Earth.
Keep the location precise
'Near' connects two objects in a headline; it does not make them one object. Asking which star, which envelope and which measurement turns an exciting phrase into an answer you can actually picture.
What to keep in mind
The measurements concern one stellar envelope. Water signatures do not establish liquid water, habitability or water inside the black hole.
Sources & context
Numbered references link the explanation to its sources. Hypothetical examples and visual metaphors are labelled in the text. Checked 3 October 2026.
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