Black Hole Observations Reveal Solar Storm-Like Magnetic Eruptions

Technion researchers have presented evidence for the existence of solar-storm-like outbursts occurring near supermassive black holes, which can be a million times larger than the sun or more. This groundbreaking phenomenon was discovered in the vicinity of the black hole located in the galaxy NGC 3783. The findings of this research were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on October 22, 2026.

Solar storms are known as powerful eruptions of X-ray radiation, accompanied by winds of charged particles ejected from the sun's corona into the solar system. These events, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), pose risks to astronauts and satellite communications. CMEs originate from the conversion of magnetic energy into kinetic energy through a process called magnetic reconnection. For the first time, Technion researchers have identified magnetic reconnection eruptions and a CME within the corona of a black hole, suggesting similar underlying physical processes.

In their study, the researchers monitored X-rays emitted from near the black hole using the XRISM space telescope. They identified a phenomenon known as the "Neupert effect" in this environment, which was first observed on the sun in 1968 but had never previously been detected around black holes. This discovery indicates that the same physical processes driving solar storms on our sun also operate in the extreme environments surrounding supermassive black holes.

The research was led by Gal Vardi, a doctoral student in the Technion Faculty of Physics, under the supervision of Professor Ehud Behar. The team included researchers from Japan, Europe, and the United States. Observations were conducted using the XRISM space telescope, a collaborative mission involving NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the European Space Agency (ESA), alongside ESA's XMM-Newton space telescope. The specific publication is titled "Observation of a Solar-like Magnetic Reconnection Event in an AGN Corona with XRISM."

What to watch: Further studies to understand magnetic reconnection in black hole coronas.

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