"I don't work for Hollywood," Astronomy Professor Robert Fesen said. "But I do forensics on dead stars."
Fesen, whose work has taken him to exotic locales, including Bali and Australia, has spent the past 20 years studying supernova remnants, the leftovers of star explosions.
For the past 12 years, he has researched the most recent supernova remnant in the galaxy, and he has identified the type of star that exploded and the exact year it blew up.
Fesen said he has written about 100 papers describing his findings, but tracking down supernovas is not his only challenge.
Fesen usually teaches one or two introductory classes each year, and he said he tries to persuade his students to not forget how the galaxy works after they recycle their notes and course syllabus.
Fesen said the key to students' long-term memories is humor. For instance, he reminds undergrads that Venus rotates on its axis in 243 days, but completes a revolution around the sun in 224 days, by telling them the planet's day is longer than its year.
Life on Venus, he said, would bring an entirely new meaning to the phrase "born yesterday."
But Fesen said teaching Dartmouth students, who he described as "spongy," is not usually very taxing.
"It's really a joy to teach the Dartmouth students. I'm not being paid to say this," Fesen said with a laugh.
Fesen said some of his students enjoy learning about their galaxy so much, they tell their parents about their astronomy courses.
"Non-science majors eat the stuff up," Fesen said.
He said the material in his courses should be standard fare for every Dartmouth student, and for everyone on Earth.
"You're on this planet," he said. "You ought to know something about it."
