NASA Telescope Spots Young Sun-Like Star Inflating Its Astrosphere

Chandra X-ray data and Hubble infrared observations reveal a young star carving out its gaseous bubble

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope to observe a young Sun-like star about 120 light-years away that is inflating a large bubble around itself, known as an astrosphere. This provides a rare glimpse into the early stages of a star's life and how its powerful stellar wind interacts with the surrounding interstellar medium.

Why it matters

Observing the astrosphere of this young star, named HD 61005, gives scientists an opportunity to study the evolution of a star's heliosphere, which is the bubble of hot gas surrounding our own Sun. Understanding how these astrospheres form and change over time can provide insights into the space weather that affects Earth and other planets.

The details

HD 61005 is just beginning its life as a main sequence star and has a stellar wind about three times faster and 25 times denser than the Sun's. As this powerful wind interacts with the cooler interstellar medium, it carves out an astrosphere that is comet-shaped, with a spherical leading edge and an elongated tail. Chandra's X-ray observations detected the X-ray emission from this interaction, while Hubble's infrared data revealed the star's surrounding dusty disk, which has earned it the nickname "The Moth".

  • HD 61005 is a young, Sun-like star about 120 light-years from Earth.
  • The research was published in The Astrophysical Journal in February 2026.

The players

Carey Lisse

An astronomer in the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University and the lead author of the study.

Scott Wolk

A co-author of the study from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA).

Brad Snios

A former researcher at CfA who is now at MITRE, a non-profit that participates in federally funded research.

HD 61005

A young, Sun-like star about 120 light-years from Earth that is inflating a large astrosphere around itself.

Chandra X-ray Observatory

NASA's space telescope that detected the X-ray emissions from the interaction between HD 61005's stellar wind and the surrounding interstellar medium.

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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, Astronomer, 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)

“There's a saying about a moth being drawn to a flame. In the case of HD 61005, the 'Moth' can't easily escape from the flame because it was born around it and might be sustained by a disk around it.”

— Brad Snios, Researcher, MITRE (Astrophysical Journal)

What’s next

The researchers plan to continue studying HD 61005 and other young, Sun-like stars to better understand the evolution of stellar astrospheres and how they interact with the surrounding interstellar medium.

The takeaway

Observing the astrosphere of the young Sun-like star HD 61005 provides a rare glimpse into the early stages of a star's life and how its powerful stellar wind shapes the surrounding environment, offering insights that can help us better understand the space weather that impacts our own Sun and solar system.