Galaxy NGC 3783 is gorgeous, with well-defined spiral arms that make it almost the platonic ideal of spiral galaxies. That beauty hides a powerful secret; at its core lies an extremely active supermassive black hole, and it is releasing winds at a speed like nothing we have seen before. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Supermassive black holes are complex beasts. When abundant material reaches them, they can become active. The process of gobbling up interstellar plasma is a messy one, and the plasma gets so hot that it can be flung out in powerful winds.

For the supermassive black hole inside NGC 3783, these winds get to one-fifth of the speed of light: a record-breaking release. Using both the European Space Agency’

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