The White Dwarf Cooling Age of NGC 6397

Brad Hansen (UCLA) - 13 Feb at 12:00 noon

The globular cluster NGC 6397 is one of the most metal poor clusters in the Galaxy and thus presumably a fossil remnant from the earliest stages of the formation of our galaxy. We report on deep HST observations of this nearby cluster which probe the white dwarf cooling sequence in this cluster in unprecedented detail. When combined with white dwarf atmosphere and cooling models, this yields strong constraints on the age of the cluster and constrains the formation epoch of the globular cluster system.

The seminar will be held in 544 Campbell Hall.


Return to seminar schedule