Webb delivers unprecedented look into heart of Circinus galaxy
Phys.org • • science
Key Points:
- New observations by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveal that most of the hot, dusty material near the supermassive black hole in the Circinus galaxy is feeding the black hole, rather than being expelled as outflows as previously thought.
- Using the Aperture Masking Interferometer on Webb's NIRISS instrument, astronomers achieved the sharpest infrared image of a black hole's surroundings ever taken, resolving emissions with twice the resolution of Webb's primary mirror.
- The data showed that approximately 87% of the infrared emissions come from the torus of hot dust close to the black hole, less than 1% from outflows, and 12% from more distant regions, overturning decades-old models.
