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.