Stellar Evolution
All stars form in nebulae, huge clouds of gas and dust.
Though they shine for thousands of years, stars do not last forever. The changes that occur in a star over time and the final stage of its life depends on a star's size.
Eventually, the hydrogen that powers a star's nuclear reactions begins to run out. The star then enters the final phases of its lifetime. All stars will expand, cool and change colour to become a red giant or red supergiant.
What happens next depends on how massive the star is.
Mario Hamuy
Occupation: Astronomer and Professor
Year born: 1960
Stars That Go Bang!
Supernovae are exploding stars which increase in brightness very suddenly and unexpectedly.
Identify the Nebula
The word nebula is used to talk about any dusty, fuzzy objects in space but they can be very different things! Can you classify each image into its proper category?