Abstract
Spatially resolving the surfaces of nearby stars promises to advance our knowledge of stellar physics. Using optical long-baseline interferometry, we constructed a near-infrared image of the rapidly rotating hot star Altair with a resolution of <1 milliarcsecond. The image clearly reveals the strong effect of gravity darkening on the highly distorted stellar photosphere. Standard models for a uniformly rotating star cannot explain our findings, which appear to result from differential rotation, alternative gravity-darkening laws, or both.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 342-345 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 317 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 20 Jul 2007 |
Keywords
- RAPIDLY ROTATING STAR
- CHARA ARRAY
- A-TYPE
- ACHERNAR
- INTERFEROMETRY
- OBLATENESS
- CONSISTENT
- VELOCITIES
- ASTRONOMY
- MODELS