Joe Patterson

Columbia University, Professor

Exploding Stars from your Backyard

The most famous stellar explosion in history occurred in 1054, when the Crab Nebula was created. Such events - *supernovae* - are certainly the most famous of the Galaxy's explosions. But they occur only about once per century, so few of us ever get to see one. The more common stellar explosions are the recurrent novae and the dwarf novae, and these objects are today the subject of intensive study. All are binary stars in mortal embrace in which the gravity of a white dwarf or neutron star rips gas from its unfortunate neighbor. I'll review the subject, and tell the story of how amateur astronomers are now playing a leading role in the study of these fascinating stars.