Black hole with unprecedented details, in new image from NASA

The study reveals with unprecedented clarity the dense structure of gas and dust that feeds the black hole.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) obtained the Most detailed image ever of the immediate environment of a supermassive black holewhen observing the active nucleus of the spiral galaxy Circinus, located approximately 14 million light years from Earth.

It reveals with unprecedented clarity the dense structure of gas and dust that feeds the black hole.

According to NASA, the new observations change the dominant interpretation decades ago about the origin of infrared glow intense in active galaxies.

Instead of being mainly produced by matter expelled in winds and outflows, most infrared emission comes from a compact, flat disc of hot dustdirectly linked to the accretion process — the “feeding” of the black hole.

The study, led by Enrique López-Rodríguez of the University of South Carolina, used an innovative Webb technique to “see” through the thick dust clouds that hide the center of Circinus.

For the first time, a high-contrast observation mode has been applied to a extragalactic source, allowing to separate previously indistinguishable structures into a single diffuse glow, explains .

The images show the inner face of a torus-shaped structure (“doughnut”) shining in the infrared and, further away, a second ring with dark areas, a sign of cooler dust.

The technique combines light collected through seven small hexagonal openings, creating patterns that function as a cosmic “magnifying glass”, equivalent to observing with a telescope twice as large.

The analysis indicates that 87% of the infrared emission from hot dust comes from the region closest to the black hole; less than 1% is associated with an arc where dust is swept away by winds.

The rest arise from more distant areas, heated by radiation from the nucleus and a small radio jet.

The team intends to apply the same method to dozens of other nearby objects, to test whether this architecture is common in active black holes.