How stars like Antares lose mass so quickly in the final phase of their evolution tagged posts

Best ever Image of a Star’s Surface, Atmosphere

First map of motion of material on a star other than the sun. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, VLT Interferometer astronomers have constructed the most detailed image ever of a star – the red supergiant star Antares. They have also made the first map of the velocities of material in the atmosphere of a star other than the sun, revealing unexpected turbulence in Antares’s huge extended atmosphere.

To the unaided eye the famous, bright star Antares shines with a strong red tint in the heart of the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). It is a huge and comparatively cool red supergiant star in the late stages of its life, on the way to becoming a supernova...