“How a star is born: Making the gas and dust soup in molecular clouds from which stars are born” will be presented on Fri., Mar. 12 @8pm in Upham Hall 140, followed by public viewing at the UWW Observatory @9:15pm (weather permitting). It’s the Physics Dept’s first spring Whitewater Observatory Lecture.
Like to learn more? Andersen Library can help! Search the HALCat online catalog for books such as The origin of stars (3rd-floor Main Collection, QB806 .S6 2004). Search article databases to find articles including “On the timescale for star formation in galaxies” (The Astrophysical Journal, Nov. 1, 2009, vol.705, pp. 650-658) and “Cloudy with a chance of stars” (Scientific American, Feb. 2010, vol.302:no.2, pp. 34-41).
Please ask a librarian for assistance with finding materials.
Mark your calendars for the rest of the observatory lectures:
- April 9: From Dust to Majority (taking a star from initial collapse in a molecular cloud to the onset of nuclear fusion)
- April 16: The Making of a Supernova (the evolution of stars more massive than eight solar masses to their demise in titanic explosions)
- April 30: The Making of a Celestial Flower (the evolution of stars less massive than eight solar masses to their demise as planetary nebulae)
- May 7: When Fusion Stops, What Follows (the long retirement of stars as white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes)
