Dr Laura Chomiuk describes her lecture: Nova means new in Latin, but in the sky a brilliant nova explosion occurs not on a new star but on an old one. These explosions involve binary stars, one member of which is a white dwarf. White dwarf stars, with masses comparable to the sun but diameters like that of the Earth, have reached the end of their normal energy producing lives. The explosions of nova and their kin, how they are different from supernova explosions, and how we explain them are the topics for this Astronomical Horizons lecture.

Location:	Abrams Planetarium [map]
Price:	free
Sponsor:	Physics Astronomy Department
Contact:	Mary Gowans gowans@msu.edu 517-355-4676
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