Beginnings Lecture 2: Stars, Galaxies, the Sun, and Earth

How did gravity sculpt enormous clouds of hydrogen into dense balls that ignited and lit up a dark sky with twinkling stars within galaxies like our own Milky Way? Why are many galaxies racing away from each other, some almost at the speed of light? How do stars transform elements like hydrogen into the carbon from which you, and I, and all life on earth are made? How did a supernova's violent death bring about the birth of our sun and the earth just over 4.5 billion years ago. Dr. Edward Guinan of the Department of Astronomy guides us through the vast reaches of space and time - and explains how we are all made of stardust.