The Be Star Alpha Arae (Artist's Impression)

Artist's impression of the Be star Alpha Arae. The star is rotating with a velocity close to its break-up velocity and loses mass through a stellar wind emerging predominantly from the poles and reaching velocities of the order of 2000 km/s. The star is surrounded by a disc in Keplerian rotation. Credit: Anthony Meilland (Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, France)