History of stars from "summary" of Origens by Neil deGrasse Tyson
The history of stars is an awe-inspiring journey of discovery and exploration. From the time they were born to where they are now, stars have been the driving force behind many scientific breakthroughs. This topic celebrates the beauty of the stars and their amazing impact on our knowledge of the universe.- Stars have long been something of a mystery to astronomers. For centuries, they've tantalized professional stargazers with their beauty and complexity.
- As stars become older, they change in size and brightness. This process occurs over millions of years and when a star runs out of hydrogen fuel, it will expand and cool down, eventually turning into a red giant star then shrinking again.
- Our sun is classified as an average-sized star that has shone for four and a half billion years. Other stars can be billions of times bigger than our sun or many times smaller.
- The death of some stars will end in explosions, creating powerful supernovae. These events create intense heat and radiation which is how elements heavier than helium are formed.
- Ancient civilizations used stars for navigation on land and at sea providing information about latitude, longitude and timekeeping.
