Dani O'Dean had the honour of working together with Metaforum, KU Leuven university to create an artwork based on a memory of astronomer Leen Decin. The work relates research on dying stars to personal memories of human lives.
Dying stars produce stellar winds, streams of particles that cause the stars to lose mass. Although dying stars were initially thought to be dull and simple, a team of astronomers led by Leen Decin was able to show that these stellar winds take on beautiful and complex shapes. They get this shape due to the influence of another star or large planet nearby. The gravity of this star attracts the stellar wind of the dying star. The particles that dying stars leave behind also form the basis for new stars and planets and thus not only tell the story of what was but also what is yet to come.
Although the process of birth and aging of stars takes billions of years, we see many parallels with human life. During our lives we receive and give 'particles' from and to others, particles that we can carry with us for the rest of our lives.