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Originally published in Science Express on 31 May 2007
Science 20 July 2007:
Vol. 317. no. 5836, pp. 342 - 345
DOI: 10.1126/science.1143205
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Reports

Imaging the Surface of Altair

John D. Monnier,1* M. Zhao,1 E. Pedretti,2 N. Thureau,3 M. Ireland,4 P. Muirhead,5 J.-P. Berger,6 R. Millan-Gabet,7 G. Van Belle,7 T. ten Brummelaar,8 H. McAlister,8 S. Ridgway,9 N. Turner,8 L. Sturmann,8 J. Sturmann,8 D. Berger1

Spatially resolving the surfaces of nearby stars promises to advance our knowledge of stellar physics. Using optical long-baseline interferometry, we constructed a near-infrared image of the rapidly rotating hot star Altair with a resolution of <1 milliarcsecond. The image clearly reveals the strong effect of gravity darkening on the highly distorted stellar photosphere. Standard models for a uniformly rotating star cannot explain our findings, which appear to result from differential rotation, alternative gravity-darkening laws, or both.

1 Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
2 School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9AJ, Scotland, UK.
3 Astrophysics Group, Covendish Laboratory, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK.
4 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
5 Astronomy Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
6 Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Observatoire de Grenoble, F-38041 Grenoble Cédex 9, France.
7 Michelson Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
8 Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA.
9 National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: monnier{at}umich.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)