Amateur astronomers have played a big role in astronomical research and the Hubble Space Telescope is not alone in enjoying the fruits of their labors.
When astronomers asked the question, Can white dwarfs in binary systems grow in mass? Amateurs were on hand to help guide Hubble to the best observations.
Understanding whether white dwarfs can gain mass is important, especially since they are the sources of a very important cosmic yardstick: Type 1a supernovae. These supernovae were directly responsible for showing us that the universe is expanding and accelerating – which meant that it also gave rise to the idea of dark energy.
But making these observations of white dwarfs in order to see if they were gaining mass was tricky and older, rejected theories that cataclysmic variables might be the progenitors of Type 1a supernovae were being revisited.
Please join +Tony Darnell, +Carol Christian and +Scott Lewis as they discuss this very interesting Pro/Amateur collaboration using the Hubble Space Telescope to better understand Type 1a supernovae, white dwarf stars and cataclysmic variables.
Please bring your questions and comments and we’ll address them during the hangout as well!