Israeli scientists discover surprising link between solar storms and black holes

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have discovered evidence that powerful eruptions near supermassive black holes are driven by the same physical processes responsible for solar storms, offering new insight into some of the most extreme environments in the universe. The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, are based on observations of a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy NGC 3783. The researchers identified a pattern of X-ray emissions previously observed on the Sun but never before detected in the vicinity of a black hole. Solar storms occur when energy stored in the Sun's magnetic fields is suddenly released, producing powerful bursts of radiation and, in some cases, enormous clouds of charged particles known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). These eruptions can travel through the solar system, disrupting satellite communications and posing risks to astronauts.