Astronomers capture sudden black hole blast firing ultra fast winds
SMRTR summary
Winds screaming outward at 60,000 kilometers per second — one-fifth the speed of light — erupted from a supermassive black hole in just a few hours, marking the first time astronomers have witnessed such rapid wind formation in real time.
The spectacular event unfolded in galaxy NGC 3783, where a black hole containing the mass of 30 million suns suddenly unleashed an intense X-ray flare that immediately triggered the ultra-fast winds. Two major space observatories, XMM-Newton and XRISM, captured the dramatic sequence as it happened.
"We've not watched a black hole create winds this speedily before," says lead researcher Liyi Gu at Space Research Organization Netherlands. "For the first time, we've seen how a rapid burst of X-ray light from a black hole immediately triggers ultra-fast winds, with these winds forming in just a single day."
The phenomenon mirrors solar flares from our own sun, suggesting that supermassive black holes and stars may operate through surprisingly similar magnetic processes, just at vastly different scales. Understanding these cosmic winds helps scientists grasp how galaxies evolve and form new stars throughout the universe.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Science Daily.
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