Ep. 787: Evolved Stars (They're not dead yet!)

Ep. 787: Evolved Stars (They're not dead yet!)

From Astronomy Cast by Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay

March 23, 2026 · 31 min · Season 19 · Episode 787

About this episode

This episode explores the evolution of stars and the various ways they can die, highlighting updates from the past 20 years of astronomical research.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 787: Evolved Stars (They're not dead yet!) By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 16, 2026. Main sequence stars spend most of their time being… normal. Fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores. Producing radiation. But as their stockpiles of hydrogen run out they switch to other fuels, starting to climb the ladder of the periodic table of elements. And this is when things get weird. As we get more and more observations of the cosmos, our understanding gets more detailed. In this episode we look at all the ways a star can die and the updates that we've learned in the past 20 years of Astronomy Cast. Image Credit: NASA Galex This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/AstronomyCast In this episode, we'd like to thank: Burry Gowen, Eric Lee, Jeanette Wink, Michael Purcell, Andrew Poelstra, David, David Rossetter, Ed, Gerhard Schwarzer, Jason Kwong, Joe McTee, Sergey Manouilov, Siggi Kemmler, Sergio Sancevero

People in this episode

Hosts: Fraser Cain, Dr. Pamela Gay

Topics covered

  • evolved stars
  • stellar evolution
  • cosmic observations
  • hydrogen fusion
  • star death
  • astronomy updates

Keywords

  • evolved stars
  • stellar evolution
  • hydrogen fusion
  • star death
  • astronomy
  • cosmic observations
  • periodic table

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NASA

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