Can you imagine the speed of 2,000 kilometers per second?
Such is the average speed at which the stellar wind "blows," forming a magnificent corona around the star. But beauty, as we know, requires sacrifice: the stronger the wind and the more attractive the crown, the faster the star fades. Until it disappears altogether.
The fact is that, physically, the stellar wind is the ejection of a star's matter into the surrounding space. Hot stars lose mass relatively quickly and live 1-10 million years. Cooler stars lose a minimum of mass to the stellar wind, and this loss has almost no effect on their evolution.
Such is the average speed at which the stellar wind "blows," forming a magnificent corona around the star. But beauty, as we know, requires sacrifice: the stronger the wind and the more attractive the crown, the faster the star fades. Until it disappears altogether.
The fact is that, physically, the stellar wind is the ejection of a star's matter into the surrounding space. Hot stars lose mass relatively quickly and live 1-10 million years. Cooler stars lose a minimum of mass to the stellar wind, and this loss has almost no effect on their evolution.