One of the largest and most awe-inspiring stars in the sky has recently taken center stage for a celestial close-up. Antares, a red supergiant located over 600 light-years away, boasts an outer envelope so vast that it could stretch all the way to Jupiter if placed at the center of our solar system.

Astronomers used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in Chile to achieve a groundbreaking first. They captured the turbulent, dynamic structure of Antares’ outer layers in unprecedented detail. This helps us to better understand the chaotic processes driving Antares toward its inevitable supernova finale. An explosion brighter than the whole night sky after which it will leave behind a neutron star or a black hole.

Antares isn’t just a star

—it’s the star, a celestial diva demanding your attention. Nestled in the heart of the Scorpius constellation, its ruby-red glow practically screams, “Look at me!” At 12 times the mass of our Sun and 700 times its diameter, Antares is truly massive. If you swapped the Sun for Antares, its surface would engulf the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, extending almost to Jupiter. Talk about making an entrance.

But for all its size, Antares is a hot mess—a star on the verge of cosmic burnout. Burning through its fuel faster than a joyriding sports car, it’s nearing the end of its life. In stellar terms, its dramatic exit may occur any day now (read: a few million years), when it will go supernova in spectacular fashion.

What makes this stellar photograph so important is that it reveals the best-ever textured images of plasma movement on a distant star—something previously only observed on our Sun. Shot using the multiple telescopes of the VLTI, there were simultaneous inputs. The image was then computer-adjusting through the use of interferometry. Coupled with other image management software, the scientists were able to measure plasma movement across the surface of the star. The light that left that star over six hundred years ago is expanding our knowledge of the Universe.

The name “Antares” means “Rival of Mars” due to its reddish hue, but Mars wishes it had this kind of flair. Its tiny blue-white companion, orbiting 550 astronomical units (AU) away, is the ultimate wingman. For context, 1 AU equals the distance between Earth and the Sun (about 93 million miles), making their separation over 14 times Pluto’s orbit.

Scaling the Solar System

Antares is so large it defies imagination. This stellar giant could fit over 700 million Suns inside it. Placed in the center of our solar system, Antares would engulf the orbits of the inner planets entirely, extending its fiery surface nearly to Jupiter.

Its companion star, orbiting farther away than the Kuiper Belt—the icy outer boundary of our solar system—adds to the system’s enormity. A conversation between the two companions would be painfully slow. A simple greeting would take almost a week for the light to travel back and forth. In human terms, they’d make for some truly frustrating texting partners.

So, next time you spot Antares in the night sky, give it a wink. It’s not just a star; it’s a spectacle, a cosmic drama unfolding on a scale that makes even our most ambitious imaginations feel small. Give a thought for Antares B, the small white dwarf alone together with Antares A. Sometimes people forget its even there having to share the stage with a prima donna.