We live inside the heliosphere,
a kind of “house”
created by the Sun
that protects our solar system.
But our house
is not the only one
on the block!
Other stars
have their own version
of the heliosphere.
They’re called astrospheres,
and we’re
just starting to learn
how they compare to ours.
Take Epsilon Eridani
for example,
a star about 10.5
light-years away.
Its astrosphere
is estimated to be over 15
times larger than our heliosphere!
That’s a much more effective
shield against dangerous
particles
impinging from outside,
but it comes at a cost.
To create that
impressive astrosphere,
Epsilon Eridani blows out
a stellar wind
about 30 times
stronger than our Sun’s.
That’s powerful enough
to blow some planets’
atmospheres right off!
To support life on a planet,
you need a star that is
protective
but not overbearing.
We study our own heliosphere
to help us figure out
what it takes
to get that balance right.
NASA’s IMAP mission,
will help us learn
how our Sun creates
our home in space —
knowledge that will guide us
in the search
for livable conditions
elsewhere.