CNN —Astronomers have observed the detailed motions of giant gas bubbles on the surface of a nearby star for the first time, which rise and fall like the inside of a lava lamp.
The images show the surface of the star R. Doradus, a red giant star 180 light-years away in the Dorado constellation.
The telescope enabled them to collect high-resolution images of the star’s surface over the course of a month.
Convection bubbles can be seen moving on the surface of R. Doradus, as seen by the ALMA telescope in Chile.
While convection bubbles have been spotted before on the surface of stars, the new observations tracked the motion of bubbles in a way that wasn’t possible earlier.
Persons:
”, Wouter Vlemmings, Vlemmings, ‘, ” Vlemmings, Theo Khouri, Chalmers, ALMA, Behzad Bojnordi, Claudia Paladini, Paladini, ” Paladini
Organizations:
CNN —, Chalmers University of Technology, NASA, Chalmers, Energy, European Southern Observatory, Sun
Locations:
Sweden, ALMA, Chile