RASC Calgary: We are all made of stardust....

Event Date: 
Thursday, October 21, 2021 - 21:30 to 23:30 EDT

We are all made of stardust but gold, silver and platinum are neutron stardust

Presented by Dr. JJ Eldridge

RASC Calgary Centre

Summary

All elements other than hydrogen and helium are made in stars. Each element is produced within different stellar death throes. I'll describe how stars make these elements and expel them into the interstellar medium to pollute the next generation of stars. I'll also describe how some elements, including those important for life, are only made in binary stars. Highlighting how the recent detection in gravitational waves of two colliding neutron star provide firm evidence for how precious elements are made by binary stars. Finally, I'll show the evidence for the different ways of making elements by showing evidence of how observed abundances have changed over cosmic history. 

Bio

Dr JJ Eldridge is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Auckland. Their general research concerns the lives and deaths of stars, from those in our own Galaxy to those in galaxies at the edge of the observable Universe. Particularly the effects of binary interactions on the lives of binary stars and how these change the appearance of galaxies, alter the rates of different types of supernovae and gravitational wave events.

This talk will take place Thursday, October 21st, 2021 @ 7:30 pm MDT (9:30 pm EDT).

Join Via Zoom HERE!

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