Astronomy is possibly the most rapidly developing of all the sciences. The past few years have seen quantum developments in our understanding of the universe. Unmanned astronomical spacecraft such as the James Webb telescope, Hubble telescope, Spitzer, Kepler, etc. have significantly expanded our knowledge, including the birth and existence of planets around other stars. This course, The Birth and Death of Stars, will describe how stars form, their life cycle, their eventual death process and the impact of the sun on life on Earth. We will also discuss what is known about the many exo-planets that have been found around neighboring stars.
Required Book: Kenneth R. Lang. The Life and Death of Stars, (Cambridge University Press), New York, 2013.
