Emergent surface intensity (numerical simulation -- Betelgeuse)

The intensity movies show the star approximately as it might appear to the human eye (In detail: The emergent bolometric surface intensity is color coded with the standard “red-heat“ table, to get a color representation adequate for a red supergiant.). The “boiling“ surface of the star shows irregular hot (white or yellow) and “cool“ (red or dark-red) areas. They change their intensity and shape on time-scales of months. Credit: Dr. Bernd Freytag Centre de Recherche Astronomique de Lyon - Ecole Normale Supérieure CRAL-ENS