The Stars

A star is an object that shines by releasing energy from nuclear reactions at its core.

Young Stars Sculpt Gas with powerful outflows

The Life Cycle of a Star

A star starts out in a "Stellar Nursery" where there are lots of clouds of interstellar gas and dust. Stars usually follow one of these three cycles:

Sun-Like Stars -> Red Giant -> Planetary Nebula -> White Dwarf -> Black Dwarf
Huge Stars -> Red Supergiant -> Supernova -> Neutron Star
Giant Stars -> Red Supergiant -> Supernova -> Black Hole

As stars pass through in their years, they grow old like everything in the universe.

The star will become less bright and expand and collapse. It is now a Red Giant or a Red Super Giant ( the outcome is decided by the original mass of that star). Once the star explodes, it becomes a Black Dwarf, Black Hole or a Neutron Star.

Some pictures of Supernova Stars

What is a Shooting Star?

A shooting star is meteor which burns up when it enters the atmosphere of Earth so in reality, it is a fragment of a meteor, a shooting star is a not a star.

Why do stars flicker when seen from Earth?

Stars flicker because the atmosphere acts like a prism when you look at the stars.

How is a Black Hole formed?

A black hole is a massive star that has died which contains so much gravity that even light can not escape it.

Why do stars appear to change color?

Stars appear to change color because the Earth's atmosphere has ripples in it which distorts the picture of the stars.

There are many types of stars, here are some of them:

Dwarf Stars

Neutron Stars/Black Holes

Nebula

Proto star

Young Star

Red Giant

White Dwarf

Black Dwarf

Blue White Stars

Supernova

Dwarf Stars: there are three different types of Dwarf stars, red, white and black dwarfs

Neutron Stars/Black Holes: Neutron stars are very small but they are densely packed together making them very heavy if they die they may sometimes become a Black Hole

Nebula: A nebula is the first stage of a star's life. It is when it is first born. A nebula is a cloud of gas and dust.

Protostar: A protostar is the second stage of a star's life. A protostar contracts more dust and gas.

Young Star: A young star is the third stage of a star's life. The cloud of gas begins to take life.

Red Giant: A red giant is the fourth stage of a star's life. A red giant starts to lose hydrogen and starts to become cooler.

White Dwarf: A red giant can turn into a white dwarf. A white dwarf is a dying star that is cooling off.

Black Dwarf: A white dwarf can turn into a black dwarf. This is the last stage of a star's life. A black dwarf is when a star is dead.

Blue White Stars: these are stars that use up their hydrogen faster than other stars and will shine a bright blue, they don't have to be bigger only burn hotter and faster

Supernova: these stars are Blue White Stars that swell up like a normal star and will collapse to become a Neutron star or a Black Hole

Sources:

http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/bobalien99/stardiff.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/lifecycle/

Images From:

    www.hublesite.org

    http://www.godandscience.org/images/nebula.jpg

    http://www.skinbase.org/files/shots/1-protostar.jpg

    http://www.sns.ias.edu/~dejan/CCS/work/my_art/dream_young_star/dream_young_star.jpg

    http://www.universetoday.com/am/uploads/2005-0629gliese-full.jpg                                                                 http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Interactives/News/International/Iraq/040705_whitedwarf_hlg_1p.h2.jpg

    http://library.thinkquest.org/3103/nonshocked/topics/blackdwarfs/images/blackdwarfimg.gif

    http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/GEODEPT/COURSES/geo-10/images/3_Vela_supernova_remnant.jpg

    http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/Images/StarChild/universe_level1/black_hole.gif

    http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/images/neutronstars/magnetar_huge.jpg