VLTI velocity map of the surface of Antares

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer astronomers have constructed this remarkable map of the motions of material on the surface of the red supergiant star Antares. This is the first such velocity map of any star other than the Sun. In red regions the material is moving away from us and in the blue areas the material is approaching. The empty region around the star is not a real feature, but shows where velocity measurements were not possible.