Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: The Fate of Stars Like the Sun

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: The Fate of Stars Like the Sun
Greg Sloan of the Space Telescope Science Institute

Our Sun, though seemingly eternal, is about halfway through its roughly 10-billion-year lifespan. What will happen when the Sun dies? Not only will the answer be important to whoever inhabits Earth in a few billion years, it is important to astronomers today. Quiet stars like the Sun are many times more numerous than large stars and play a major role in how galaxies develop. Importantly, how these stars die determines when life can first form in the galaxy.

Host: Dr. Frank Summers

Recorded live on Tuesday, August 7 at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

More information: http://hubble.stsci.edu/about_us/public_talks/