PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Monnier, John D.
AU  - Zhao, M.
AU  - Pedretti, E.
AU  - Thureau, N.
AU  - Ireland, M.
AU  - Muirhead, P.
AU  - Berger, J.-P.
AU  - Millan-Gabet, R.
AU  - Van Belle, G.
AU  - ten Brummelaar, T.
AU  - McAlister, H.
AU  - Ridgway, S.
AU  - Turner, N.
AU  - Sturmann, L.
AU  - Sturmann, J.
AU  - Berger, D.
TI  - Imaging the Surface of Altair
AID  - 10.1126/science.1143205
DP  - 2007 Jul 20
TA  - Science
PG  - 342--345
VI  - 317
IP  - 5836
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/317/5836/342.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/317/5836/342.full
SO  - Science2007 Jul 20; 317
AB  - 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.