Outflow from active galaxy NGC 3783 (artist’s impression)

This video shows an artist’s impression of the dusty wind emanating from the black hole at the centre of galaxy NGC 3783. Astronomers knew that dust surrounded such supermassive black holes in a doughnut-shaped torus, but new observations using ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer now show that dust also lies in the polar regions. This material is pushed outwards by the black hole’s radiation, forming a cool, dusty wind.