Hunting the Stellar Undead

Gregory Sivakoff, University of Alberta

Stars are born, and stars die, but not all stars fade quietly into the night after their death. In fact, some are even more spectacular in their death and undeath. Many classes of the stellar undead can be described in terms of the classic beings from fairy tales, horror, and science fiction: vampires, werewolves, zombies, banshees, and more. But don't worry - just as Van Helsing hunted Dracula, astronomers like Dr. Sivakoff are on the case of hunting the stellar undead. He will introduce these cosmic beasties, discuss some astronomers' favorite hunting tricks, and reveal a few essential astronomical lessons learned from the stellar undead.

- News from the Universe starts at 3:46
- Main talk starts at 15:21

Host: Frank Summers, Space Telescope Science Institute
Recorded live on Tuesday, December 3, 2024
More information: www.stsci.edu/public-lectures