{"id":224357,"date":"2025-12-09T21:08:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T21:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/224357\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T21:08:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T21:08:15","slug":"astronomers-spot-extraordinary-blast-from-supermassive-black-hole-in-ngc-3783","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/224357\/","title":{"rendered":"Astronomers Spot Extraordinary Blast from Supermassive Black Hole in NGC 3783"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using ESA\u2019s XMM-Newton and the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a JAXA-led mission with ESA and NASA participation, astronomer have observed the launch of an ultrafast outflow from NGC 3783\u2019s supermassive black hole at 19% the speed of light (57,000 km\/s).<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"An<\/a><\/p>\n

An artist\u2019s impression of the flaring, windy supermassive black hole in NGC 3783. Image credit: ESA \/ ATG Europe.<\/p>\n

NGC 3783<\/a> is a bright barred spiral galaxy located about 135 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus.<\/p>\n

The galaxy was first discovered on April 21, 1835 by the English astronomer John Herschel.<\/p>\n

Otherwise known as ESO 378-14, LEDA 36101 or 2XMM J113901.7-374418, it is a main member of the NGC 3783 galaxy group, a gathering of 47 galaxies.<\/p>\n

NGC 3783 hosts<\/a> a rapidly rotating supermassive black hole of 2.8 million solar masses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve not watched a black hole create winds this speedily before,\u201d said Dr. Liyi Gu, an astronomer at the Space Research Organisation Netherlands (SRON).<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time, we\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a 10-day observation, mainly with the XRISM space telescope, the astronomers witnessed the formation and acceleration of an outburst from a supermassive black hole in NGC 3783.<\/p>\n

Scientists often find that such outbursts are powered by strong radiation, but this time the most likely cause is a sudden change in the magnetic field, similar to bursts on the Sun that cause solar flares.<\/p>\n

While supermassive black holes are known to flicker in X-rays, this is the first time astronomers clearly see a high-speed ejection accelerated during an X-ray burst.<\/p>\n

It was revealed in the longest continuous observation XRISM has carried out so far.<\/p>\n

During the 10-day period, scientists saw variations in X-ray brightness, especially in the softer X-ray band.<\/p>\n

These changes, including the outburst that lasted for three days, are not unusual for supermassive black holes.<\/p>\n

However, what makes this outburst unique is the simultaneous ejection of gas from the accretion disk of the black hole \u2014 the swirling disk of matter orbiting the black hole.<\/p>\n

This gas was expelled at incredibly high speeds, reaching up to 57,000 km per second, or 19% of the speed of light.<\/p>\n

The gas appeared to come from a region at a distance of roughly 50 times the size of the black hole.<\/p>\n

In this turbulent region, gravity and magnetic forces interact in extreme ways.<\/p>\n

The researchers believe the ejection was caused by a process called magnetic reconnection: a sudden reconfiguration of magnetic fields that releases huge amounts of energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a unique opportunity to study the launch mechanism of ultrafast outflows,\u201d Dr. Gu said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe data suggest that the acceleration of the outflow is driven by magnetic forces, similar to coronal mass ejections from the Sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA coronal mass ejection happens when large blobs of hot solar plasma are hurled into space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA supermassive black hole can do the same, only these eruptions are ten billion times more powerful, dwarfing anything we have ever seen on our Sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scientists propose that the observed black hole event, just like its solar counterpart, is fueled by sudden bursts of magnetic energy.<\/p>\n

This contrasts with the common theories suggesting that black holes expel matter through intense radiation or extreme heat.<\/p>\n

The results offer new insights into how black holes not only pull matter in, but under certain conditions, also shoot it back out into space.<\/p>\n

This process, known as feedback, may play a key role in how galaxies grow and change over time, influencing the stars and gas around the black hole and helping shape the Universe we see today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe discovery stems from successful collaboration, something that\u2019s a core part of all ESA missions,\u201d said XMM-Newton project scientist Dr. Erik Kuulkers, an astronomer at ESA.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy zeroing in on an active supermassive black hole, the two telescopes have found something we\u2019ve not seen before: rapid, ultra-fast, flare-triggered winds reminiscent of those that form at the Sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcitingly, this suggests that solar and high-energy physics may work in surprisingly familiar ways throughout the Universe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s paper<\/a> was published in the December 9, 2025 issue of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

Liyi Gu et al. 2025. Delving into the depths of NGC 3783 with XRISM. III. Birth of an ultrafast outflow during a soft flare. A&A 704, A146; doi: 10.1051\/0004-6361\/202557189<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Using ESA\u2019s XMM-Newton and the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a JAXA-led mission with ESA and NASA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[60351,3514,18,6145,19340,120655,7443,19,17,15518,1024,120656,120657,133,7449,6552,120658,120659,101366,120660,51401],"class_list":{"0":"post-224357","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-barred-spiral-galaxy","9":"tag-black-hole","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-esa","12":"tag-flare","13":"tag-galactic-wind","14":"tag-galaxy","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-jaxa","18":"tag-nasa","19":"tag-ngc-3783","20":"tag-outflow","21":"tag-science","22":"tag-spiral-galaxy","23":"tag-supermassive-black-hole","24":"tag-x-ray-burst","25":"tag-x-ray-flare","26":"tag-x-rays","27":"tag-xmm-newton","28":"tag-xrism"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115691658259246450","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}