Scientists Discover Supermassive Black Hole Emitting Record-Breaking Winds
Astronomers have observed a supermassive black hole in the NGC 3783 spiral galaxy, located 135 million light-years from Earth, emitting winds at unprecedented speeds. The black hole, with a mass equivalent to 30 million suns, caught researchers' attention after a massive X-ray flare. As the flare subsided, it left behind winds traveling at over 37,000 miles per second, or one-fifth the speed of light. This phenomenon was studied by Liyi Gu and his team using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and XRISM X-ray space telescopes. The researchers believe the intense X-ray burst and subsequent winds were caused by the black hole's magnetic field suddenly untwisting, a process similar to coronal mass ejections from the sun.