"Uncovering Betelgeuse's Dynamic Surface"

Recent observations of Betelgeuse's rapid rotation are being questioned by astronomers who suggest that the star's boiling surface may be mistaken for rotation due to large-scale convection. The surface of Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star, is dominated by violent convection, with boiling bubbles as large as Earth's orbit rising and falling at speeds of up to 30 km/s. An international team proposes that the dipolar velocity map observed in Betelgeuse could be a result of the boiling surface mimicking rotation, and new observations with higher spatial resolution are needed to better assess the star's rotation.