"First-Ever Detection of Stellar Winds from Sun-Like Stars"

An international research team led by a University of Vienna scientist has directly detected stellar winds from three sun-like stars for the first time by recording the X-ray emission from their astrospheres, placing constraints on the mass loss rate of the stars via their stellar winds. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, observed the spectral fingerprints of oxygen ions with the XMM-Newton space telescope and estimated the mass loss rates of the stars to be much stronger than the solar wind, potentially due to stronger magnetic activity. This breakthrough paves the way for future direct detection and imaging of stellar winds, with implications for understanding stellar and planetary evolution.