Antares

Antares is a red supergiant star marking the heart of Scorpius. Its vast atmosphere and surrounding gas and dust have been resolved through direct observations.

Red supergiant: A massive, evolved star with a cool surface and an expanded outer envelope. Antares is a nearby example of this late stage in massive-star evolution.
Very Large Telescope Interferometer: An instrument combining light from separate telescopes to achieve high angular resolution. It resolved details of Antares's surface and extended atmosphere.
Scorpius: A zodiacal constellation in the southern sky, traditionally depicted as a scorpion. Antares is the constellation's brightest star and marks its central region.
Stellar evolution: The physical changes a star undergoes over its lifetime. Antares's expanded state reflects the late evolutionary phase of a massive star.
Mass loss: The reduction of a star's mass through winds, eruptions, or other outflows. Antares's observed outflow provides evidence about how red supergiants lose mass.
Stellar wind: A continuous outflow of gas from a star into surrounding space. Antares sheds material through a wind that helps shape its circumstellar environment.
AMBER: An infrared beam-combining instrument formerly used at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer. AMBER observations mapped gas motions in Antares's atmosphere.
Alpha Scorpii: The Bayer designation of Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius. This designation identifies Antares within the constellation's naming system.
Supernova: A powerful stellar explosion that can occur when a massive star reaches the end of its life. Antares is expected to end its life in a supernova, though not on a predictable human timescale.
Stellar atmosphere: The outer layers of gas surrounding a star, where its emitted radiation is formed. Antares demonstrates that a supergiant atmosphere can extend far beyond its apparent surface.

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