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Every Thursday in February learn about “The Death of a Star.”
We’re not talking about the passing of some Hollywood silver screen idol, rather, the demise of a star in the heavens.
Beginning Feb. 6, the Chesapeake Planetarium at 310 Shea Drive in the Chesapeake Municipal Center will present for its public February offering, “The Death of a Star.” The free program is at 8 p.m. and will also be presented Feb. 13, 20 and 27.
Yes, stars do have a life cycle. Stars are born out of clouds of dust and gas and enter a nebulae stage, according to schoolsobservatory.org. Then, nuclear reactions begin to occur and the nebulae become stars, giving off light, heat and energy. Massive stars have shorter lives, usually several 100,000 to a few million years, than smaller ones, which can last several billion years.
Small stars, like our Sun, go from star to red giant, then to its death as a white dwarf. Large, massive ones go from stars to red supergiants to supernovas and then to their demise as mysterious black holes.
Planetarium Director Robert Hitt will show a star’s life and discuss how its dies.
In fact, one such death may be occurring now. Astronomers have recently noted that Betelgeuse is in all likelihood beginning its death phase. Betelgeuse, once one of the brightest stars in the sky, is dimming, signaling that it’s entering its supernova stage, according to an item in the Jan. 17 issue of The Week magazine. It will produce a light show that will take over the night sky. But don’t go reserving your spot to watch this phenomena, yet. This may not happen for another 100,000 years or so.
Betelgeuse — not the film with Michael Keaton — is 15 times more massive than our Sun and is 650 light years away from Earth, sitting on a shoulder of the constellation Orion. It began to dim about three months ago and now has fallen out of the hierarchy of brightest stars in the sky.
To put it all in perspective: Betelgeuse is less than 10 million years old and dying, while the Sun, considered “middle-aged,” is around five billion years old.
Watch, listen and learn about these dramatic deaths in the cosmos by calling 547-0153 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays to make the required reservations. Admission is free.
GOLLY, IT’S PAULEY!
Don’t forget about the inaugural program of the Chesapeake Forum on Jan. 29 at the Chesapeake Conference Center, 700 Conference Center Drive in Greenbrier.
The recently formed forum will present the pioneering female, award-winning broadcast journalist Jane Pauley as its first keynote speaker.
Door open at 6:15 p.m. followed by a concert by the Deep Creek High School orchestra at 7 p.m. Pauley will take the podium at 7:30 p.m.
Pauley has won a slew of accolades and awards including several Emmys, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism and the Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding achievement. In addition, she is a member of the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame.
Also a best-selling author, Pauley anchored “Dateline” on NBC for more than 10 years and is currently the host of “Sunday Morning” on CBS.
She is also a noted spokesperson for mental health and an advocate for children’s health and education.
Tickets to the Jan. 29 program are $50 per person. Forum series tickets are $125 and include admission to programs featuring Mae Jemison on March 3 and Ronan Tynan on May 14.
For more information or tickets, call 346-9163 or visit thechesapeakeforum.org.
CLUBS? BOOK IT!
Weekend Scoop
You’ve decided to read more and expand your mental horizons in 2020. An easy, fun and social way to achieve this is by joining a book club where you can gather with friends and like-minded individuals to share books and interesting topics.
The Chesapeake Public Library has several clubs encompassing various themes and topics.
For those interested in books by or about African Americans there are two clubs: the Mocha Authors Club at the Russell Memorial Library at 2808 Taylor Road in Western Branch and the Essence Book Club at the Indian River Library at 2320 Old Greenbrier Road.
The Mocha Authors Club’s next meeting is from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 28. Call 410-7016. The Essence Book Club will gather from 6:30 until 7:45 p.m. Feb. 6. For more details, call 410-7001.
Whodunit? All you armchair sleuths enamored with the exploits of a Sherlock Holmes, a Hercule Poirot, a Miss Marple or even a Jessica Fletcher? The Greenbrier Gumshoes will convene at the Greenbrier Library at 1214 Volvo Parkway from 2 to 3 p.m. Jan. 29 for its next meeting. For more facts, call 410-7058.
Love all types of books, fiction and nonfiction? Come join the River Readers Book Club at the Indian River Library as they discuss and explore a different title each month. Members will also share their favorite reads and chat about other titles. The River Readers meet on the third Tuesday of the month. Call 410-7001.
Eric W. Feber, ewjfeber@gmail.com