Astronomers Capture First-Ever Detailed Images of Bubbling Gas on Distant Star

The ALMA telescope reveals giant convection bubbles on the surface of the red giant star R Doradus, offering insights into the future of our Sun.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) captured high-resolution images of the red giant star R Doradus, located 180 light-years away.
These images show enormous gas bubbles, 75 times the size of the Sun, rising and sinking on the star's surface.
R Doradus is 350 times larger than the Sun but has a similar mass, making it a model for understanding the Sun's future evolution.
The observed convection bubbles move on a one-month cycle, faster than previously expected based on solar observations.
This study marks the first time astronomers have tracked the motion of convection bubbles on a star other than our Sun, providing new insights into stellar physics.