Once a black hole has formed, any additional material that reaches its surface will be absorbed and never seen again. This funneling of matter into the black hole is sometimes called “feeding the monster”. Prior to being consumed by the black hole, the incoming material typically spirals inward. This material forms part of a disk outside the black hole called an accretion disk. The disk is very hot and bright and some of its material, rather than being swallowed up, may be ejected at very high velocity in two jets at right angles to the disk.
