Key Ideas

Think about the following questions as you watch the video

1. 01:39 What is a supernova?
2. 03:16 How do ancient historical texts, such as <em>The Book of the Later Han</em>, help scientists today understand astronomical phenomena like supernovae?
3. 04:57 How did modern astronomers confirm that the “guest star” recorded by Chinese astronomers was in fact a supernova?
4. 06:20 What is interdisciplinarity (interdisciplinary thinking) and why is it important in the Big History course?
5. 07:03 What are the two thresholds for this unit?
6. 07:31 How do stars “light up”?
7. 08:20 How do dying stars create the building blocks for life?