James Webb Space Telescope reveals slow star formation in Sombrero Galaxy

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a new image of the Sombrero Galaxy, revealing a dust-rich outer ring and a gap where a supermassive black hole resides. This image shows a significant change from previous views, highlighting the galaxy's slow star formation. Located 31 million light-years away, the Sombrero Galaxy forms stars at a much slower rate than the Milky Way, converting only half a solar mass of gas into stars each year. This suggests a depletion of molecular hydrogen, essential for star formation. The Sombrero's central black hole is currently inactive, producing only a short jet of particles. Past activity, including powerful jets and starbursts, has left the galaxy in a quieter state, with little interaction from neighboring galaxies.