Detailed image of red giant confirms theory about massive stars
The red giant π1 Gruis is 530 light-years away, and it's reaching the end of its natural life. Soon, scientists think it will become a planetary nebula. But before it dies, astronomers are using π1 Gruis to shed light on some of the secrets of stellar phenomena. Now, using the most detailed images of a distant star ever captured, scientists have confirmed existing theories about giant stars in the late stages of their life. The results were published in Nature . The image in question was captured in December by ESO's Very Large Telescope , which is in fact an array of four different telescopes. Using the four telescopes in concert, astronomers were actually able to view granulation patterns on the surface of π1 Gruis. This, in turn, led to confirmation of existing theories about the surfaces of giant stars. Stars use convection, which is the process through which heat is transferred due to the movement of molecules, to transfer energy. Scientists theorized that stars as lar...