Science Briefing: Preparing for the Predicted T Coronae Borealis Nova
Location
Virtual
Contact Information
About Event
In this special edition of NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefings, we will focus on T Coronae Borealis, one of the brightest and most famous novae. It is predicted to erupt soon (perhaps reaching naked-eye brightness).
Elias Aydi will discuss how astronomers are harnessing multiwavelength observations of novae from a multitude of telescopes to rewrite the textbooks and re-evaluate our understanding of how these explosions on white dwarf stars work.
Chick Woodward will discuss how astronomers plan to observe T Coronae Borealis with JWST and other telescopes worldwide to investigate how novae occur and how their ejecta evolve. He will also highlight how citizen scientists can contribute to the panchromatic, worldwide observational study.
About the Series
The NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefings are professional learning telecons for the informal science education community, done in partnership with the NASA’s Museum & Informal Education Alliance, now found on NASA CONNECTS. These monthly thematic briefings highlight current NASA astrophysics explorations and discoveries from across the suite of NASA astrophysics missions. NASA scientists and engineers provide contemporary science results, and are able to respond to listener questions during the telecon. NASA-developed education and outreach resources, matched to the monthly theme, are included in every briefing.
In order to participate in the telecon and ask questions of the scientists, please join NASA’s Museum & Informal Education Alliance.
Facilitator & Presenters
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Dr. Kelly Lepo is an Education and Outreach Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, where she supports outreach efforts for the James Webb Space Telescope. She received a PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Toronto. During her time in Canada, she made numerous local and national media appearances to talk about everything from the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse to the Super Blue Blood Moon. She previously served as the Coordinator of the McGill Space Institute, taught physics at Gonzaga University, and helped build the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. -
Dr. Elias Aydi is a NASA Hubble Fellow at the Physics and Astronomy department at Michigan State University. He obtained his PhD from the University of Cape Town and the South African Astronomical Observatory in 2018. Elias's main research interests involve multiwavelength and time-domain astronomy, focusing on transient phenomena, particularly nova eruptions. He is also very interested in public engagement and promoting astronomy to the public. -
Dr. Charles “Chick” E. Woodward is a professor at the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Woodward is an international expert in multi-wavelength ground- and space-based observational astrophysics, instrumentation development, and telescope construction, management, and operations. He also has significant experience in national space policy. Dr. Woodward’s research interests include the physical properties of astrophysical grains, the physics of nova explosions and their chemical contributions to the interstellar medium, the populations and characteristics of evolved stars, and the infrared activity of comet nuclei and small solar system bodies. He played a significant role in the programmatic development of the NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility (Spitzer) legacy science opportunities, advisory roles with NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), and development of the James Webb Space Telescope, and has participated in mentoring programs to enhance diversity in the field of astrophysics.
Event Resources
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Slide Presentation PPT
75 MB -
Resources PDF
205 KB