Astronomy Picture of the Day . ... 23.11.2007 . ... The planetary nebula phase represents a final stage in the evolution of low mass stars like the sun , as they transform themselves from red giants to hot white dwarf stars and in the process shrug off their outer layers. ... The Medusa's transforming hot central star is visible in the detailed color image as the small blue star within the upper half of the overall bright crescent shape . ... Publications with keywords: planetary nebula . ...

We present the discovery of debris systems around three Sun-like stars based on observations performed with the Spitzer Space Telescope as part of a Legacy Science Program, ``The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems'' (FEPS). We also confirm the presence of debris around two other stars. ... ADS Citation Query . citations = 55 . citations vs. year [year,citations] . ...

... Stellar Evolution is driven entirely by the never ending battle between Pressure and Gravity . As imbalances are reached, the star is driven to find a new Energy source. ... Pressure and gravitational forces are equal, the star is stable and its core is sufficiently hot to fuse Hydrogen into Helium More about main sequence stars . ... The luminosity generated by the core fusion of Helium into Carbon is far greater than the shell luminosity associated with the fusion of Hydrogen into Helium. ...

... Australia Telescope Steering Committee . ... Parkes radio telescope . ... Late Stages of Stellar Evolution . Welcome to the home page of the Late Stages of Stellar Evolution" We are a research group which operates within the Astrophysics Group of the Australia Telescope National Facility. ... To investigate the late stages of stellar evolution and in particular the role of stellar mass-loss in the evolution of asymptotic giant branch stars, proto-planetary nebulae and extremely massive stars. ...