Events in Physics
Ben Davies (Liverpool John Moores)
Astronomy Seminar
Ben Davies
(Liverpool John Moores University)
The Brightest Stars in the Local Universe
When massive stars evolve off the main sequence, they become Red Supergiants - stars which are more luminous than entire globular clusters and dwarf galaxies. Accurately modelling such stars means that can then be used as probes with which to study the properties of their host galaxies at Mpc distances.
In my talk I will firstly discuss the atmospheres of these stars, and how we are only just beginning to understand the basic quantity of their temperatures. Secondly, I will describe our new project which uses these stars to chart the chemical evolution and star-forming history of their host galaxies at distances well beyond the Local Group.