Video chat with astronomer Rodolfo Montez Jr. Ask questions about the beautiful death throes of Sun-like stars and the ultimate fate of the Sun. Rodolfo Montez Jr. is an astronomer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
In the event of inclement weather, the program may be moved or postponed. Check @SIObservatory for updates or call (202) 633-2517.
Accessibility: The Observatory dome and Museum galleries are accessible.
At the end of its life, the Sun will bloat into a red giant, and its outer layers will drift away to create a glowing planetary nebula like these examples. This gallery of planetary nebula is a set of composite images by two NASA space telescopes.
The image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory is shown in purple, and traces shock waves within the nebula. The red, green, and blue detailed images are from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/RIT/J.Kastner et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI
Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory; rain location is Explore the Universe gallery