透過韋伯望遠鏡的中紅外線儀器 (MIRI)，研究人員在 IRS 3 的周圍包層中明確偵測到了富含氧的矽酸鹽星塵，並首次在該天體中發現了水的存在。這推翻了過去認為該恆星富含碳的推測，揭示了其真實的化學特徵。這些物質在距離恆星約一萬天文單位的範圍內呈現層狀分佈，溫度由內向外逐漸降低。
研究估計 IRS 3 的質量約為太陽的 6 倍，年齡約 7200 萬年。這項重要發現表明，即使在星系中心如此極端、充滿強烈輻射的惡劣環境下，像 IRS 3 這樣的晚期恆星依然能持續產生星塵與分子物質，為未來新一代恆星與行星的誕生提供不可或缺的原料。
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers discovered that cosmic dust and water can form and survive just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way. This discovery stems from observations of IRS 3, a highly evolved star in the asymptotic giant branch phase, which is shedding massive amounts of gas and material into space through powerful stellar winds.
By utilizing Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), researchers detected clear signatures of oxygen-rich silicate dust and, for the first time, water within the envelope surrounding IRS 3. This observation overturns previous suggestions that the star might be carbon-rich, revealing its true chemical identity. The dust is distributed in a layered, shell-like structure extending about 10,000 astronomical units from the star, with temperatures decreasing towards the outer regions.
Researchers estimate that IRS 3 has a mass about six times that of the Sun and is approximately 72 million years old. This significant finding demonstrates that even in the extreme, radiation-dominated environment near a supermassive black hole, evolved stars like IRS 3 can still continuously produce dust and molecular material, supplying essential ingredients for the formation of future generations of stars and planets.