The Lives of Stars

The fiery birth, explosive death, and strange afterlife of every sun. Scientists have discovered a tremendous variety of star types, each with a fascinating biography and a strange fate in store. Born in a cloud of gas and dust, a new star is ignited by the explosion of a dying star nearby. A star such as our Sun has a long life. Over billions of years, it burns yellow, then red, as it uses up its nuclear fuel. It then throws much of its material into the universe in a planetary nebula—one of the most spectacular sights in space. After the nebula disperses, the hot core of the dead star remains: it's called a white dwarf. A bigger star lives fast and dies young, burning a blue-white and finally exploding in a supernova. What remains may be a black hole, a neutron star, or a pulsar—a neutron star emitting beams of deadly radiation. Using the most beautiful photos of space objects available, Harvard-trained astronomer Ken Croswell leads a tour of the stars—the young, the aging, and the dead but still active. The lives of stars Star light, star bright The birthplace of stars A star is born The H-R diagram Main-sequence stars Brown dwarfs Red giants Planetary nebulae White dwarfs Supergiants and supernovae Cepheids Neutron stars and pulsars Black holes Double stars Type Ia supernovae Star clusters Nucleosynthesis Extrasolar planets Life in space? Scientists have discovered a tremendous variety of star types, each with a fascinating biography and a strange fate in store. Using the most beautiful photos of space objects available, Harvard-trained astronomer Ken Croswell leads a tour of the stars the young, the aging, and the dead but still active Uses photographs taken in space to introduce a variety of star types, and explains how stars are born, live, and die. Suggested level: primary, intermediate