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Star with Midriff Bulge Eyed by Astronomers
July 25, 2001

For the first time ever, a star spinning so fast its mid-section is stretched out has been directly measured by an ultra-high-resolution NASA telescope system on Palomar Mountain near San Diego.

"Measuring the shape of this star, Altair, was as difficult as standing in Los Angeles, looking at a hen's egg in New York, and trying to prove that it's oval-shaped and not circular," said Dr. Charles Beichman, chief scientist for astronomy and physics at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Altair is a well-known member of the Summer Triangle, clearly visible in the summer night sky across the United States. Scientists using the Palomar Testbed Interferometer, which links multiple telescopes, measured the star's radius at different angles on the sky. They noticed the size of the star varied with changing angles, which was the first tip-off that Altair is not perfectly round.
(Full Release)

And a little about Robby, and his filmography (with his appearance in “Gremlins” [1984] notably absent).

Cheers,
Dan