A Black Hole's Corona Blazes Like the Sun's ⚡ экспресс
The first direct observational evidence of a magnetic reconnection flare in the corona of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) was obtained for the object NGC 3783. Data from the XRISM/Xtend and XMM-Newton/EPIC-PN X-ray telescopes showed distinct temporal evolution in the soft (<2 keV) and hard (>2 keV) bands, characteristic of the Neupert effect — a signature of magnetic reconnection. The superfast outflow (UFO) detected during the flare plays a role similar to a coronal mass ejection on the Sun. The height of the magnetic loop is constrained above ~30 gravitational radii. From energetic considerations, the field annihilated during the flare is B > 1.3×10⁴ G; a dynamic estimate gives ~500 G for the instantaneous field at the moment of reconnection. The results confirm that the heating of AGN coronae occurs through the same mechanisms as in stellar coronae.
The Sun's corona — that shining halo — sizzles at millions of degrees, even though the star's surface is hundreds of times cooler. It's boiled by constant ruptures of magnetic arcs. Like overstretched strings, magnetic field lines snap and reconnect, blasting out energy. That's magnetic reconnection in action.
The XRISM and XMM-Newton telescopes spotted an identical flare from a чёрной дыры in the галактике NGC 3783. The black hole produced a double pulse: first hard radiation (fast particles), then soft (heated gas). That two-step clue points to reconnection — and to the Солнце. On top of that, the hole hurled out a hypervelocity gas stream screaming along at tens of thousands of kilometers per second — a solar eruption analog, but billions of times more powerful.
The magnetic loop that sparked it turned out to be compact — no larger than a couple dozen black hole diameters across. That let astronomers estimate the field's strength: as it snapped, it was thousands of times stronger than Earth's. Nature pulls the same trick, from stars to supermassive black holes. Карл Шварцшильд first described the gravitational radius that made measuring these flares possible.
🎯 The Sun's corona is superheated to 1–3 million degrees, while its surface sits at just 5,500 °C. The reason? Constant snapping of magnetic arcs.