NASA's Chandra Spots Young 'Sun' Blowing Bubbles

First image of astrosphere around a Sun-like star provides insights into our own solar system's evolution.

Published on Feb. 23, 2026

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Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have captured the first image of an 'astrosphere' - a wind-blown bubble of hot gas - surrounding a star similar to our Sun. The star, called HD 61005, is much younger than our Sun at about 100 million years old and has a much stronger stellar wind, allowing the astrosphere to be more easily detected.

Why it matters

This discovery provides a rare glimpse into how our own Sun's astrosphere, known as the heliosphere, may have looked billions of years ago when the Sun was younger and more active. Understanding the evolution of astrospheres around Sun-like stars can offer insights into the changing environment that our solar system has experienced over time.

The details

The astrosphere around HD 61005 has a diameter about 200 times the distance from Earth to the Sun. Astronomers were able to detect the astrosphere using Chandra because the stellar wind from HD 61005 is producing X-rays as it runs into the cooler surrounding interstellar medium. HD 61005's dense local environment, combined with Chandra's high-resolution X-ray vision and the star's proximity, all contributed to the strong X-ray signal that allowed the discovery.

  • Chandra first detected hints of X-ray emission from HD 61005 in a brief one-hour observation in 2014.
  • In 2021, astronomers observed HD 61005 for almost 19 hours, which allowed the detection of the extended astrospheric structure.

The players

Carey Lisse

A researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who led the study on the astrosphere around HD 61005.

Scott Wolk

A co-author of the study and researcher at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

Brad Snios

A former researcher at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, now at MITRE, a non-profit that participates in federally funded research.

HD 61005

A star located about 120 light-years from Earth that is roughly the same mass and temperature as the Sun, but much younger at about 100 million years old.

Chandra X-ray Observatory

NASA's space-based X-ray telescope that was able to detect the astrosphere around HD 61005.

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What they’re saying

“We have been studying our Sun's astrosphere for decades, but we can't see it from the outside. This new Chandra result about a similar star's astrosphere teaches us about the shape of the Sun's, and how it has changed over billions of years as the Sun evolves and moves through the galaxy.”

— Carey Lisse, Researcher, Johns Hopkins University (Astrophysical Journal)

“We are impacted by the Sun every day, not only through the light it gives off, but also by the wind it sends out into space that can affect our satellites and potentially astronauts traveling to the Moon or Mars. This image of the astrosphere around HD 61005 gives us important information about what the Sun's wind may have been like early in its evolution.”

— Scott Wolk, Researcher, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (Astrophysical Journal)

What’s next

Astronomers plan to continue studying HD 61005 and its astrosphere to learn more about how the Sun's own protective bubble has changed over time.

The takeaway

This discovery of an astrosphere around a Sun-like star provides a rare glimpse into the early history of our own solar system, shedding light on how the Sun's protective bubble may have looked and evolved billions of years ago when it was a much younger and more active star.