Astronomy on Tap Triangle – An Abundance of Stars

Come check out Astronomy on Tap Triangle, our North Carolina chapter of short and engaging talks about astronomy over beer. Find us in the taproom of Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, NC from 7-9 PM on Wednesday, September 7th!

The life cycles of stars can be heavily influenced by gravitational interactions with nearby, orbiting companions. In some cases, the interactions are strong enough to strip off their outer atmospheres when they become red giants, forever altering their future evolutionary trajectory! Come listen from Dr. Brad Barlow (High Point University) where you’ll learn how we hunt for these stripped red giants and how they are related to Type 1a supernovae, some of the most powerful explosions in the universe!

Then, Ben Kaiser (UNC Chapel Hill) will tell us why astronomers are looking for lithium in all the wrong places. In the aftermath of the Big Bang, Hydrogen, Helium, and Lithium were formed before any stars were created. The quantities of these elements predicted to have formed in the Big Bang have all been verified except for Lithium. The correct amount of Lithium is very important to our understanding of the conditions of the Big Bang. We’ll explore why astronomers have been looking in the wrong place to measure this Lithium abundance and how stellar remnants known as white dwarfs may hold the key to correctly testing the Big Bang-predicted Lithium abundance.

Be sure to get there on time for a quick round of astronomy trivia and prizes!

There is always lots of time to ask questions and interact with the presenters and other scientists who inevitably stick around for the beer.

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