From AGB Stars to Aspherical Planetary Nebulae: Recent Observational Highlights from the Far-IR and (Sub)mm to X-Rays – Part 2

Most stars that leave the main sequence in a Hubble time will end their lives, evolving through the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB), Preplanetary Nebula (PPN) and Planetary Nebula (PN) evolutionary phases. The heavy mass loss which occurs during the AGB phase is important across astrophysics, yet stellar evolution from the beginning of the AGB phase to the PN phase remains poorly understood, especially the dramatic transformation that occurs in the morphology of the mass-ejecta as AGB stars and their round circumstellar envelopes evolve into mostly PNe, the majority of which deviate strongly from spherical symmetry. This talk will feature recent observational highlights covering the wavelength range from the far-IR and (sub)millimeter to UV and X-rays, including results from SOFIA and Herschel. These data both provide new insights and raise new questions for our current understanding of the late evolutionary phases of low and intermediate mass stars.