Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2026

16 ASTRO PUBLISHING L eading X-ray space telescopes XMM-Newton and XRISM have spotted an extraordinary blast from a supermassive black hole. In a matter of hours, the gravitational monster whipped up powerful winds, flinging material out into space at eye-watering speeds of MARCH-APRIL 2026 Flaring black hole whips up ultra-fast winds by ESA T his artist’s im- pression de- picts the black hole within NGC 3783. The swirling ‘dough- nut’ of golden material is known as an accretion disc: a ring of material that is circling the black hole and will ultimately be devoured, pulled in closer and closer by the black hole’s colossal gravity. The bright spot marks a su- perheated region of material – a ‘hotspot’ that was seen to release first a looping X-ray flare, and then the intense ‘outflow’ of winds seen shooting to the top of the frame. [ESA – Ack.s ATG Europe]