The European Southern Observatory (ESO) recently released an image of the red supergiant star Antares which, for the first time in history, shows detail in the star’s surface.

A team of astronomers, led by Keiichi Ohnaka of the Universidad Catolica del Norde in Chile, used the ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile to map the surface of Antares. The result: the best image ever taken showing the surface and atmosphere of any star outside of our own sun.

The VLTI is a unique facility that can combine the light from up to four telescopes to create a virtual telescope equivalent to a single mirror up to 200 meters across. This allows it to resolve fine details far beyond what can be seen with a single telescope alone.