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For those of us whose inner children are still asking profound questions about the universe, an astrophysicist will be available to provide answers from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13, at SRI International in Menlo Park.

Stanford University physics professor Tom Abel will give a free talk on "Where do Stars and Galaxies Come From?" at Cafe Scientifique, a monthly meeting at which the public can explore and debate scientific and technological issues in a non-academic setting.

Mr. Abel, a cosmologist and astrophysicist and a member of the Kavli Institute for Astroparticle Physics and Cosmology at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, will discuss the Big Bang, the explosion that scientists believe gave birth to the universe some 13.7 billion years ago, and issues such as the role of stars in forming the atoms of our bodies, and the fate of the Milky Way.

Doors open at 5:15 p.m. at the headquarters of SRI Menlo Park in the International Building at Middlefield Road and Ringwood Ave.

Go to cafescisv.org for directions, information on parking, and other details. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. and close when the room reaches capacity. Bring your own coffee cup!