美国宇航局的詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜捕捉到了超大质量黑洞吸积物质的详细观测图像。这一观测针对距地球约1.45亿光年的NGC 4696星系，该星系是半人马座星团中最大的中心星系[1]。研究团队利用韦伯望远镜的NIRSpec仪器进行了近8小时的观测，空间分辨率可达30光年尺度[1]。
观测数据显示，一条长丝状气体结构将物质输送到黑洞周围的旋转盘中，该盘面直径约800光年，其中气体流速最高达每秒600公里[1]。研究表明，这个超大质量黑洞可能通过喷流加热气体，随后再吸收冷却后的物质来循环利用燃料[1]。这项研究由蒙特利尔大学领导，密歇根州立大学等机构参与[1]，成果已于2026年7月14日发表在《天体物理学报快报》上[1]。
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has obtained detailed observations of a supermassive black hole actively accreting material, revealing the mechanics of how these cosmic objects consume gas and dust.[1] The observations targeted NGC 4696, the largest central galaxy in the Centaurus Cluster located approximately 145 million light-years from Earth.[1] Using the telescope's NIRSpec instrument over nearly eight hours of observation time, researchers detected a filamentary gas structure funneling material into a rotating disk roughly 800 light-years in diameter surrounding the black hole, with gas flowing at speeds reaching 600 kilometers per second.[1]
The unprecedented spatial resolution of the observations, capable of distinguishing structures as small as 30 light-years across, has provided scientists with new insights into black hole feeding mechanisms.[1] The research suggests that supermassive black holes may operate in a cyclical process, where jets heat surrounding gas before the cooled material is reabsorbed, allowing the black holes to recycle their fuel supply.[1] The findings were published on July 14, 2026, in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, with the research led by the University of Montreal and including participation from Michigan State University.[1]