Contact: Penny Fannin
penny.fannin@adm.monash.edu.au
61-399-055-828
Monash University

Red Giant Star

Caption: Deep in the interior of a red giant star, hydrogen rich clouds (red) are seen to float above the hydrogen burning shell (blue). In this three-dimensional simulation, the energy production rate in the burning shell exceeds that of the sun by a factor greater than 100. It heats the previously homogeneous region around it converting 3He to 4He and hydrogen, producing a hydrogen rich region that is buoyant and fragments into rising clouds. This previously unrecognized mixing mechanism resolves the problem of 3He overproduction in low mass stars.

Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories

Usage Restrictions: None

Related news release: Big Bang theory saved