Stars, Mars and Cosmic Bars

We understand the Sun more so than any other star in our universe, it's well behaved and has loads of interesting but calm mannerisms. There are other stars that have different lives and do really violent and cool things. One of our goals as humans is to understand how all these stars work. I'll have a go at explaining some of the cool things stars do.

When we look up to the stars in our night sky, we only see a fraction of what is really there. The most spectacular images of the cosmos are captured with telescopes, many of which can “see” a much wider range of light than our own eyes, beyond the rainbow. After considering the nature of light and its colours, we will explore the Universe’s treasure-trove of views beyond optical light — and how such views form an essential part of our understanding of astrophysics.

Billions of years ago, Mars had a thick atmosphere capable of providing a warm climate and abundant liquid water at the surface, conditions conducive for life. So, what went wrong? Let’s take a journey through the red planet's climate evolution from potential Martian life to the dry desert planet of today. Can Mars really be a hope for the future or does its atmospheric evolution serve as an important cautionary tale?