Human Elements: Studying stars by going back in time

Sarah Hoffman

Sarah Hoffman • Apr 19, 2025

Apr 27, 2020

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          <article>
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              <hgroup>
                <h1>Human Elements: Studying stars by going back in time</h1>
                <h2><p>Emily Levesque studies the moment of mystery when a star dies — the millisecond when its bright light explodes into a supernova or collapses into a black hole. By peeking through high-powered telescopes and analyzing reams of data, Emily can go back in time to discover what happened in the universe</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/shoffman-kcts9-org/">Sarah Hoffman</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Apr 27, 2020</time></p>
            </header>
            <p>Emily Levesque studies the moment of mystery when a star dies — the millisecond when its bright light explodes into a supernova or collapses into a black hole. By peeking through high-powered telescopes and analyzing reams of data, Emily can go back in time to discover what happened in the universe millions of years ago. In her world, the night sky only gets more beautiful when you understand how it lives and dies.</p>
          </article>

Emily Levesque studies the moment of mystery when a star dies — the millisecond when its bright light explodes into a supernova or collapses into a black hole. By peeking through high-powered telescopes and analyzing reams of data, Emily can go back in time to discover what happened in the universe millions of years ago. In her world, the night sky only gets more beautiful when you understand how it lives and dies.

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By Sarah Hoffman

Sarah Hoffman is a senior video producer at Cascade PBS, focusing on science and the environment. Previously she worked as a visual journalist for the Omaha World-Herald and The Dallas Morning News. F