Proud to be part of LJMU,
in partnership with the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust

 

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Stars

María Teresa Ruiz González

Early Life

Maria was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1946. She fell in love with astronomy after attending a summer school about it. She went on to study astronomy in Chile and was the first person to graduate from this program in 1971. Ruiz earned her PhD in Astrophysics in 1975 and became the first woman to earn a PhD from Princeton.

Career highlights

Maria held a research post at the Trieste Observatory between 1975 and 1976 while doing her PhD. She also worked for two years at the Institute of Astronomy at UNAM in Mexico.

Year born: 1946

Research Areas: Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets

 

Legesse Wetro

Early Life

Legesse Wetro was born in Cire, a small town in Ethiopia. In 1967, he started studying physics at Addis Ababa University. There, he joined a Christian student group and enjoyed singing in the church choir. After his first degree in 1972, he stayed to teach physics. But Legesse wanted to learn more. He earned a master's degree from the University of Sheffield, UK, and a PhD in astrophysics from the University of California, US. Through all this time, he also wrote many gospel songs that people still enjoy today.

Year born: 1950

Research Areas: Astrophysics, Pulsars, Geophysics, Magnetic Fields

 

 

Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz

Early Life  

Enrico Ramirez Ruiz was born and raised in Mexico City. His parents were chemists who worked for the local university. From a young age, he wanted to answer the big questions, such as how the Universe was made.

Year born: ~1975

Research Areas: Stellar explosions, Gamma-Ray Bursts, Black holes, Neutron stars, Gravitational Waves

 

Shi Shen

Early Life

Shi Shen lived during the 4th century BCE in ancient China. He was born in the state of Wei, which was a strong kingdom during the Warring States period. This was a time when people studied the skies, believing the stars could guide rulers and hold predictions about the future. From an early age, he developed a keen interest in the Sun, Moon, and stars. That curiosity led him to study the night sky, asking big questions about how the Universe worked.

Occupation

Astronomer

Year born

unknown ~4th century BCE

Research Areas

Astronomy, Star Maps, Sunspots 

 

Zhang Heng

Occupation

Astronomer, Mathematician, Geographer, Inventor, Poet

Year Born

78

Research Areas

Star Catalogues, Seismology, Geometry

 

A dark yellow postage stamp with a drawn illustration of a man's portrait. He is looking to the side, his hair in a small bun on his head. He has a long mustache and a beard on his chin.
This work by State Post Bureau of the People's Republic of China is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
A postage stamp depicting Zhang Heng

Star Formation

Stars form in huge clouds of gas and dust called nebulae. These areas of space are sometimes known as 'stellar nurseries' or 'star forming regions'.

A wide column of red/brown cloud and gas rises upwards in the middle, splitting off into three separate vertical branches. The background is dark blue and black, though brighter around the edges of the branches. Throughout the image, there are bright red and white dots of stars scattered throughout. Three particularly large red stars are visible in the upper left quadrant of the image.
This work by NASA/ESA,/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
A small region of the Eagle Nebula. This structure has been named the 'Pillars of Creation'.

Stellar Evolution

All stars form in nebulae, huge clouds of gas and dust.

Though they shine for thousands of years, stars do not last forever. The changes that occur in a star over time and the final stage of its life depends on a star's size.

A diagram showing the stages in the life cycle of a star. "Creation" is at the top, also labelled "Stellar Nebula" along with a graphic of a pink swirly cloud. Two arrows point left and right with the label "Main Sequence". On the left is "High Mass Star", a blue circle, and arrows lead to the next stages which are "Red Supergiant", "Supernova", "Neutron Star" and "Black Hole". The right arrow leads to a "Low Mass Star", a yellow circle. Arrows then point to the next stages.
This work by The Schools' Observatory is licensed under All rights reserved

Star Clusters

Star clusters are groups of stars which are held together by gravity.

There are two types of star clusters: globular clusters and open clusters.