So Ted, you know all those things you see
in the sky  -- can you tell me more about them?
I want to know all about the stars.
Of course! First of all, stars aren't all the same. They can be big or small. Some are hot and others are not as hot.
They change throughout their lives just like we change as we grow older.
Stars start out life as clumps of gas and dust. This then comes together to make a baby star called a protostar
The star gets hotter and grows into a normal star like the Sun. It spends most of its life like this.
Then, if the star is big, it changes into a red giant. Or, if it's REALLY big, it turns into a red supergiant!
It lives like this for a little while and then it explodes!
We call this a supernova. The star throws most of itself out into space in a big explosion that only lasts a few seconds.
The star stuff explodes out at millions of miles per hour.
This is tens of thousands of times faster than a racing car.
Wow! So is that going to happen to the Sun?
Ah no, our Sun is a pretty small star. So it will turn into a red giant
and then into what we call a white dwarf star as it gets older.
So the Sun won't explode.
No, only the big stars explode and make supernova remnants.
What's that?
Supernova remnants are bits of star that were thrown out into space.
Oh cool! So is that the end of the star's life then when it explodes?
You'd think so wouldn't you, but
even though the star explodes,
not all of it is thrown into space.
The very middle of the star gets left behind and becomes either a neutron star
or a black hole, depending on how big or small it is.
We're interested in looking at these things in space.
I'll tell you all about them, but I'll save that for another time.
Time for me to get back to work i think. Lots to be looking at!
