Grace Under Fire: the Death of Sun-Like Stars

Dr. Stacy Palen
Physics Department
Weber State University

When the Sun dies, it will be transformed into one of the most beautiful objects in the Universe---a planetary nebula.  At one time, these objects were thought to be boring, round, with mostly un-interesting physics.  More recently, we've found that they are laboratories for the intersection between many fields of physics.  From magnetism to hydrodynamics to photochemistry to the evolution of the interstellar medium, planetary nebula have something to tell us about the Universe we live in.