Weird Stars: St. Louis Astronomical Society April Meeting

Stars come in a variety of sizes, colors, and physical properties, but most fit into a theory of stellar structure and evolution. There are some very rare exceptions to the standard star types - these are the “weird stars”.  This program begins with a look at the regular types of stars and their life cycles, and then presents several examples of weird stars – those that do not fit the standard models.

Rich Heuermann retired as the Administrative Officer of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Outreach Program Coordinator for the NASA Missouri Space Grant Consortium at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.  He is a member of the Saint Louis Astronomical Society and a NASA Solar System Ambassador.  The Ambassadors form a nationwide network of individuals who communicate to school groups, civic groups, and the general public information about astronomy and planetary sciences in general and NASA missions in particular.  Prior to his thirty-year term at Washington University, he served as the assistant director of the McDonnell Planetarium in St. Louis.  

The St. Louis Astronomical Society is an organization for individuals interested in astronomy and telescopes. The public is invited to attend its meetings, telescope observing sessions, and special events. For more information about Astronomical Society events, please visit www.slasonline.org.

Free parking will be available.

Header image: The yellowish star near center is T Tauri, prototype of the class of T Tauri variable stars. Just next door is the yellow cosmic cloud historically known as Hind's Variable Nebula (NGC 1555). Over 400 light-years away, at the edge of an otherwise invisible molecular cloud, both star and nebula are seen to vary significantly in brightness but not necessarily at the same time, adding to the mystery of the intriguing region.