Public Lecture

Genesis, pastel drawing by Miruna Popescu

Click here to view lecture in Flash format.
Click here to view slides from the lecture. World-leading stellar astronomer Professor John D. Landstreet, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, Canada, will deliver a public lecture "The Life Story of a Star: from Birth to Death", at 8.00pm on Tuesday 19 February, in the Rotunda Lecture Theatre, St. Patrick's Trian, Armagh. The lecture, which is free and open to everyone, is provided as part of the Armagh Observatory's "Science in the Community" programme. It will end with questions followed by tea and coffee. Most people know that stars are bodies much like our own Sun. But how are they produced? Do they live forever? If not, what happens to them? The illustrated talk will answer some of these questions by describing how astronomers have come to understand the life stories of single stars, from the time they are born out of giant gas clouds somewhere in our Milky Way galaxy, through mature middle age, until they finally collapse to become tiny remnants of their former selves, possibly even a black hole. John Landstreet was born in Philadelphia and graduated BA in 1962. He earned his PhD degree in 1966 from Columbia University. His thesis was on theoretical neutrino astrophysics. As a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia, he co-built the first astronomical photoelectric polarimeter, which led to the discovery of the first magnetic white dwarf star. He then joined the staff of the Astronomy Department of the University of Western Ontario, where he became a Full Professor in 1976. As well as serving on many Canadian and international committees, he was the 2002 recipient of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's C.S. Beals Award for prominent astronomical research. He has authored numerous scientific papers as well as the acclaimed graduate text "Physical Processes in the Solar System", published in 2003. The illustrated talk, which is free of charge and open to all members of the public, is associated with an International Workshop being held at the Observatory from the 18th to the 22nd February 2008. FOR FREE TICKETS OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Mrs Aileen McKee or John McFarland at the Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG. Tel.: 028-3752-2928; FAX: 028-3752-7174; ambnarm.ac.uk

Last Revised: 2010 February 22nd