Sculpted gases in the Helix Nebula, revealed in a new Webb image, look like the firework-like tendrils in a distant amateur-discovered supernova remnant — here's why.
Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs), which reside at the center of many galaxies, play a central role in the evolution of these cosmic structures. This includes how they power Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), in which the core region emits enough radiation and light to temporarily outshine all the stars in the disk. They also "seesaw" between relativistic jets emanating from their poles to outflows of jets that suppress star formation in the surrounding core. Despite this broad understanding, scientists have been waiting for the day when they can peer directly into the heart of a galaxy's core and see what's going on there.
