{"id":26972,"date":"2024-09-11T11:00:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T15:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=26972"},"modified":"2024-09-09T21:34:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T01:34:47","slug":"eso-surface-bubbles-of-another-star-tracked-in-highest-detail-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=26972","title":{"rendered":"ESO: Surface bubbles of another star tracked in highest detail ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Astronomers track bubbles on star\u2019s surface
\nin most detailed video yet<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Astronomers have captured a sequence of images of a star other than the Sun in enough detail to track the motion of bubbling gas on its surface. The images of the star, R Doradus, were obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a telescope co-owned by ESO, in July and August 2023. This panel shows three of these real images, taken with ALMA on 18 July, 27 July and 2 August 2023. The giant bubbles \u2014 75 times the size of the Sun \u2014 seen on the star\u2019s surface are the result of convection motions inside the star. The size of the Earth\u2019s orbit is shown for scale.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the first time, astronomers have captured images of a star other than the Sun in enough detail to track the motion of bubbling gas on its surface. The images of the star, R Doradus, were obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a telescope co-owned by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), in July and August 2023. They show giant, hot bubbles of gas, 75 times the size of the Sun, appearing on the surface and sinking back into the star\u2019s interior faster than expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time the bubbling surface of a real star can be shown in such a way,\u201c<\/em>\u00a0[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

says Wouter Vlemmings, a professor at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and lead author of the study published today in Nature<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had never expected the data to be of such high quality that we could see so many details of the convection on the stellar surface.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Stars produce energy in their cores through nuclear fusion. This energy can be carried out towards the star\u2019s surface in huge, hot bubbles of gas, which then cool down and sink \u2014 like a lava lamp. This mixing motion, known as convection, distributes the heavy elements formed in the core, such as carbon and nitrogen, throughout the star. It is also thought to be responsible for the stellar winds that carry these elements out into the cosmos to build new stars and planets.<\/p>\n