The gas swirling around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way is rich in heavy metals, according to Live Science, which reported on new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope.

The black hole is called Sagittarius A*. Scientists say the metals likely came from supernovas, the explosions of dying stars, which blasted material into the region around it, Live Science reported.

In astronomy, "metals" means any element heavier than hydrogen or helium, such as oxygen, carbon, iron or gold. These elements form inside stars and are spread into space when the stars die.

The gas appears to have the same makeup as several nearby stars, Live Science reported. That suggests the stars and the gas may have formed at the same time.

Webb picked up the heat signatures of several gas clouds near the black hole and measured the metal content in each one, Live Science said. The telescope orbits about 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth.

The work was led by Nicole Ford, a doctoral student at McGill University in Montreal. She said in a statement that the galaxy's black hole is eating much less material than other supermassive black holes, and more slowly. Learning what the gas, dust and stars around it are made of could help explain why, she said.

Metals affect how quickly gas cools, which in turn affects how easily it can be pulled into a black hole, the researchers said. They said the findings could also shed light on how Earth got many of its elements.

The study was published Oct. 19 in The Astronomical Journal, Live Science reported. An earlier study found that the gas cannot be used as a reliable record of past bursts of activity from the black hole.

What we know: Webb found that gas near the Milky Way's central black hole is rich in metals.
What we don't: Why the black hole feeds so slowly. Only Live Science has reported this so far; NewsHabit hasn't seen independent confirmation.