Astronomers have been trying for a long time to understand how matter is pulled down towards a black hole. Directly watching the feeding process requires very high spatial resolution at the center of galaxies. A new study by Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) astronomers of Galaxy NGC 1097 provides the best glimpse yet of the death spiral of material as it descends into the core of a large black hole on a one-way trip into oblivion. The researchers peek to within 10 light-years of the galactic core.