Splotchy Giant

Antares, one of the biggest stars in our region of the galaxy, shows giant bright splotches in this artist's concept, which is based on observations made from the European Southern Observatory. Each of the splotches, which is much hotter than the surrounding surface, is many times bigger than the Sun. They are massive blobs of hot gas dredged from deep beneath the star's surface. Antares is classified as a supergiant. It is many times more massive than the Sun, hundreds of times wider, and tens of thousands of times brighter. [ESO/M. Kornmesser]