stellar wind

astronomy

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July 14, 2026

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A stellar wind is a continuous outflow of plasma from a star's surface into space. Similar to the Sun's solar wind, many stars exhibit these winds, which are driven by high temperatures in their coronas.123

Observations from space-based telescopes have revealed that most stars have coronas with temperatures of a million Kelvin or more, and many display solar-like activity such as spots, flares, and prominences. The most luminous, hot blue stars possess the strongest stellar winds, with speeds reaching 3,000 km per second and mass loss rates a billion times that of the solar wind.2

Cooler, luminous stars also have winds, though at lower velocities. These winds are rich in dust and molecules and contribute significantly to the interstellar medium, providing material for new star formation. The exact mechanisms driving these stellar winds are still being researched.2

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star
Stellar activity and mass loss
…types are active and have stellar winds analogous to the solar wind. The importance and ubiquity of strong stellar winds became apparent only through advances in spaceborne ultraviolet and X-ray astronomy as well as in radio and infrared surface-based astronomy.
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…types are active and have stellar winds analogous to the solar wind. The importance and ubiquity of strong stellar winds became apparent only through advances in spaceborne ultraviolet and X-ray astronomy as well as in radio and infrared surface-based astronomy.
Read More

meteorite
Meteorites and the formation of the early solar system
…AGB stars produce massive fast-moving winds (flows of matter) that are rich in short-lived radionuclides. Numerical simulations show that under some conditions, when these winds hit an interstellar molecular cloud that cannot collapse spontaneously, they compress it to the point that it becomes gravitationally unstable and collapses. The simulations also…
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…AGB stars produce massive fast-moving winds (flows of matter) that are rich in short-lived radionuclides. Numerical simulations show that under some conditions, when these winds hit an interstellar molecular cloud that cannot collapse spontaneously, they compress it to the point that it becomes gravitationally unstable and collapses. The simulations also…
Read More

H II region
…gas also arises from the stellar winds of the exciting stars. These winds create a large cavity or bubble in the denser, cooler gas originally surrounding such a star. In the interior of the bubble, the radially flowing stellar wind passes through a transition in which its radial motion is…
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…gas also arises from the stellar winds of the exciting stars. These winds create a large cavity or bubble in the denser, cooler gas originally surrounding such a star. In the interior of the bubble, the radially flowing stellar wind passes through a transition in which its radial motion is…
Read More