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News Release 05-007

Portrait of a Star on the Edge

A new telescope array yields an unprecedented close-up of the bright star Regulus

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Regulus compared to the Sun

A computer-generated model of Regulus based on CHARA data, with a similar model of the Sun shown to scale. This view shows the model almost equator-on, with its axis tilted 86 degrees from celestial north -- just as Regulus appears in the sky. That makes the axis almost horizontal in this picture, and the equator almost vertical. The star's frenetic spin has distorted it into the shape of a squashed beach ball.

Credit: Wenjin Huang, CHARA, Georgia State University


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