Webb telescope zooms in on a black holes messy feeding zone

Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have mapped where dust collects around a nearby supermassive black hole — and found that almost all of it sits in a compact ring feeding the object.

The study focuses on the Circinus galaxy, about 13 million light-years away in space. Webb’s sharp imaging made out relatively small parts of the center of the galaxy, allowing researchers to distinguish material falling in from the dust getting pushed out.

This ring, called a "torus," acts like both a fuel line and a gatekeeper...