The Spanish Embassy in Canberra and Mt Stromlo Observatory have organized a public talk followed by an amateur observation about "Stars and Galaxies". The event is starting at 5:15pm at Mt. Stromlo Observatory. The lecturer is the Spanish astronomer Dr. Angel R. Lopez-Sanchez (CSIRO /ATNF). He will give a multi-color vision of how stars are born and die in the galaxies of the Local Universe. The abstract of the talk is:
Stars are born in giant nebulae composed by gas and dust. The evolution of a single star depends on its initial mass and chemical composition. Stars like the Sun live for a long time: they are shinning for several billions of years. Low mass stars end their lives expelling their outer atmospheres to the space: a planetary nebula is formed. However, massive stars evolve quickly, dying some few million of years after their birth in a titanic supernova explosion. In both cases, new and fresh material cooked inside the stars is released to the space and contribute to the birth of the new generation of stars. Indeed, this cycle of stellar evolution has a fundamental role in all the galaxies, their observed properties and their evolution. In order to understand all the processes, astrophysicists have to look not only in the visible colors but in all frequencies, from X-ray to radio-waves, to get an accurate picture of the nebulae, the galaxies and our position in the Universe.
After this, at around 6:30 pm, several amateur telescopes will show to the audience some of the objects (nebulae and galaxies) explained in the talk. The Canberra Astronomical Society is helping in the organization of the stargazing.
