“The inexorable spiral of matter down the gullet of a giant black hole has been captured in unprecedented detail by the Very Large Telescope in Chile.

NGC 1097, a spiral galaxy about 45 million light years from Earth, glows relatively brightly at its centre. That suggests a black hole is devouring surrounding stars and gas there, but the light’s glare has overwhelmed any detailed images of the process.

Now, astronomers have used one of the VLT’s four 8-metre telescopes to take near-infrared images of matter whirling towards the galaxy’s heart.” (New Scientist)