Massive stars and supernovae – with Thomas Haworth

Video Description

What are massive stars and supernovae, and why are they so rare? And why have they had such a huge effect on the evolution of the universe? Watch the Q&A here: https://youtu.be/-XiZNxF37Xo Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe When stars are born, hundreds of thousands can form in one cluster. Amongst these are massive stars which, though rare and short-lived, have far-reaching effects on the evolution of the entire galaxy. Clusters of stars are formed when gravity causes giant clouds of dusty gas to collapse, giving us some of the most stunning images in astronomy. However, alongside the creation there is destruction. Massive stars, around 40 times larger than the sun, emit vast amounts of energy which heats and blows away the star-forming gas. In this talk, Thomas Haworth shares the latest understandings of how the energy from massive stars is impacting the clusters and galaxies around them. From the destruction of planet-forming discs surrounding young stars to energy surges as the massive stars explode in supernovae, the lives of massive stars have far-reaching consequences for their surroundings. This talk was recorded at the Ri on 11 April 2023. 00:00 Intro 1:03 What is a ‘massive’ star? 7:12 How are massive stars formed? 12:35 How bright are massive stars? 17:18 Electrons and atoms (demos) 22:41 Star formulation simulation (demos) 25:17 What about supernovae? 29:57 The effect of massive stars on galaxies 34:50 Explosive demo! 38:53 How quickly are galaxies making stars? 40:35 Why are planets so diverse? 46:52 How do we study planets? (demos) 55:02 Recent research on planets Thomas Haworth is a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow and Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London. His approach to research uses both computer simulations and observations with state of the art facilities. He connects the two using synthetic observations. His main interests are the connection between planet formation and star forming environment, but has enjoyed working on a wide range of other topics including star formation/stellar feedback, planet formation, cloud-cloud collisions, AGB star winds and globulettes. -- A very special thank you to our Patreon supporters who help make these videos happen, especially: modsiw, Anton Ragin, Edward Unthank, Robert L Winer, Andy Carpenter, William Hudson Don McLaughlin, efkinel lo, Martin Paull, Ben Wynne-Simmons, Ivo Danihelka, Kevin Winoto, Jonathan Killin, Stephan Giersche, William Billy Robillard, Jeffrey Schweitzer, Frances Dunne, jonas.app, Tim Karr, Alan Latteri, David Crowner, Matt Townsend, THOMAS N TAMADA, Andrew McGhee, Paul Brown, David Schick, Dave Ostler, Osian Gwyn Williams, David Lindo, Roger Baker, Rebecca Pan -- The Ri is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ri_science Listen to the Ri podcast: https://anchor.fm/ri-science-podcast Our editorial policy: https://www.rigb.org/editing-ri-talks-and-moderating-comments Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.