Zooming in on Red Giant Star R Doradus | ESO

Zooming in on Red Giant Star R Doradus | ESO

This video zooms into R Doradus. This red giant star has a diameter roughly 350 times that of the Sun and is located about 180 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Dorado. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has recently captured images of the bubbling surface of the star R Doradus—the first time this motion is imaged in detail in a star other than the Sun. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner.

The various images shown here, all are actual images rather than artist’s impressions, were taken by a variety of telescopes at different times. They have been blended together to create this zoom. The inset at the end shows a timelapse of images of the stellar surface taken with ALMA.

A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses) in a late phase of stellar evolution. These stars have exhausted the supply of hydrogen in their cores and have begun thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in the shell surrounding their cores. They have radii tens to hundreds of times larger than that of our Sun. However, their outer envelope is lower in temperature, giving them a yellowish-orange hue. A red giant will usually produce a planetary nebula and become a white dwarf at the end of its life. It is our Sun’s destiny to become a red giant star as well.

Credit: ESO / L. Calçada, N. Risinger, DSS, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/W. Vlemmings et al. 

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 11, 2024

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