From Stellar Death to Cosmic Rebirth: 60 Years of Supernova Study

We are made of the residue of nuclear reactions assembled in the furnaces of massive stars. Yet for decades, our astrophysical models have failed to explain how such massive stars explode as supernovae to seed the universe with this ejecta. David Vartanyan will discuss the recent paradigm shift that transformed our understanding of supernovae, and how he and other theorists in his field will increasingly contribute to the rapid advancement of observational capabilities.

Program

• 6:30 p.m. Doors open
• 7 p.m. Brief musical performance
• 7:30 p.m. Lecture begins

About the Speaker

David Vartanyan, Hubble Einstein Fellow, Carnegie Science Observatories, received his undergraduate degree at Caltech and his PhD at Princeton. After working jointly at U.C. Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, he returned to his SoCal roots at Carnegie Science Observatories.

Carnegie Observatories presents the 23rd season of talks highlighting the most exciting discoveries in today’s golden age of astronomy. Carnegie Observatories scientists have transformed humankind’s understanding of the Cosmos, from the revelation of the universe’s expansion to the discovery of dark energy—and the groundbreaking work continues today. Carnegie scientists are still at the vanguard of astronomical research at the world-famous Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, home of the twin 6.5m Magellan telescopes and future site of the 24m Giant Magellan Telescope.