Diffraction-limited speckle-masking interferometry of the red supergiant VY CMa

We present the first diffraction-limited images of the mass-loss envelope of the red supergiant star VY CMa. The two-dimensional optical and NIR images were reconstructed from 3.6 m telescope speckle data using bispectrum speckle interferometry. At the wavelengths ~ 0.8 mu m (RG 780 filter), 1.28 mu m, and 2.17 mu m the diffraction-limited resolutions of 46 mas, 73 mas, and 124 mas were achieved. All images clearly show that the circumstellar envelope of VY CMa is non-spherical. The RG 780, 1.28 mu m, and 2.17 mu m FWHM Gaußfit diameters are 67 masx83 mas, 80 masx116 mas and 138 masx205 mas, respectively, or 100 AUx125 AU, 120 AUx174 AU and 207 AUx308 AU (for a distance of 1500 pc). We discuss several interpretations for the asymmetric morphology. Combining recent results about the angular momentum evolution of red supergiants and their pulsational properties, we suggest that VY CMa\xspace is an immediate progenitor of IRC +10 420, a post red supergiant during its transformation into a Wolf-Rayet star. Based on data collected at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile