xingyzt

Maybe because FIRMS uses data from satellites in polar orbits, which only pass over the area once every few hours? With choosing near-Earth polar vs. farther geostationary orbits there's a tradeoff between space and time resolution.

No, just a student on winter break who got curious why CA Fire's map wasn't showing the up-to-date extent of the Eaton fire. Do they have this kind of heat data?

No, looks like they're doing a way better job! Thanks for sharing. I was only aware of the GOES sats. Seems like VIIRS is more intended to do this kind of monitoring.

It's accurate. Stellar winds are the primary driver of mass loss for stars near the end of their lives. Asymptotic red giants have extremely voluminous and sparse atmospheres very loosely bound by gravity; any excess radiation pressure would create an instability and blow away portions of the outer envelope. Eventually this exposes a dense, glowing carbon/oxygen/neon core surrounded by a fraction of the original atmosphere (exact composition varies), which we call a white dwarf.

Further reading: Ch. 13, Carroll & Ostlie, Introduction to Modern Astrophysics

I swear submitted this post last night but now it shows I did it two hours ago? Spooky