Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at Newcastle University, has used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to uncover a hidden veil of dust in a galaxy located 70 million light years away.
The research discovered that the energy heating the dust comes from shocks caused by gas collisions near the speed of light, rather than radiation from the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center.
The study, led by Houda Haidar, a Ph.D. student in the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, was published in the *Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society*. Haidar and her team are part of the Galactic Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey (GATOS).
The team at Newcastle University had the privilege of working with some of the first dedicated JWST observations. Haidar expressed excitement about accessing the stunning images and collaborating with leading experts.
An active galactic nucleus (AGN) consists of a supermassive black hole that feeds on gas. In many cases, thick clouds of dust and gas obscure the AGN from Earth’s view. JWST’s infrared capabilities allow astronomers to see through this dust.
The JWST’s sharp imaging capabilities enabled the resolution of the detailed structure of the dust around the supermassive black hole, extending across hundreds of light years.
The new images of galaxy ESO 428-G14 revealed that much of the dust is aligned along the radio jet. This suggests that the jet may play a significant role in heating and shaping the dust.
Dr. David Rosario, a senior lecturer at Newcastle University and co-author of the study, highlighted the unexpected finding of radio jets causing such significant effects on their surroundings.
Studying the dust near supermassive black holes helps scientists understand how galaxies recycle their material. This research sheds light on the processes by which supermassive black holes influence the evolution of galaxies, including the Milky Way.