Red giants faster on the inside than the outside

Red giants, stars nearing the end of their life cycle, have offered insight into the future of our sun 5 billion years from now.

University of Sydney researchers have discovered that the cores of the stars spin faster than the outside – at least ten times faster, in fact.

Analysing waves from within the stars, the team observed two years of practically continuous data gathered by the Kepler. As the outer layers expand and cool, the stars’ cores, it seems, contract and heat. This phenomenon results in the deferential speeds observed as variations in the brightness of the star’s surface.