Understanding Stars

White dwarfs, intensely hot stars near the end of their lives, will be the focus of an international conference when 100 of the world's leading astrophysicists gather at the College later this month. Chaired by Astronomy Professor Gary Wegner, the week longcolloquium will focus on ways to understand how white dwarfs evolve and how they can be used to test various theories of relativity. Gravity on the small white stars is 100,000 times greater than on Earth; the temperature is 20,000 degrees, compared with our sun's 6,000 degrees. Scientists predict that the sun is destined to become a white dwarf in about five billion years.