Monthly Meeting – The Life and Death of Stars – the life cycle of stars in our galaxy

With Associate Professor and Dean, Karen Pollard,  Director of The University of Canterbury Mt John Observatory.

The Life and Death of Stars – the life cycle of stars in our galaxy

Stars are key components of galaxies: they are hosts for families of planets; they create the chemical elements deep in their interiors; they evolve and explode, providing the physical feedback mechanism to kickstart new generations of star formation.

In this talk I will take you on a journey to understand our place in the universe and how we came to be, concentrating on the crucial role stars play in the evolving universe.

Karen Pollard is an associate professor at the University of Canterbury and Director of the University of Canterbury Mt John Observatory. Her research areas are in stellar astrophysics, with specific interests in investigating the structure, formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems. Karen was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand, and did her BSc (Hons) and PhD degrees in Physics and Astronomy at UC. She has worked as an astrophysicist in South Africa, the US, Chile and New Zealand.

Watch online at 8pm Monday 8th March on the AAS youtube Channel