Curiosity Science Contest Response - The Birth and Death of a Star

We have all seen the night sky and the millions of diamond-like stars that decorate it. But have you ever wondered what these stars really are and how they ended up there? 

In layman terms, a star is a big (really big!) plasma ball made of hydrogen and helium. But how did these balls of plasma came to be?

 False-color imagery of the Sun

I was about to write an article addressing these questions but half-way through I decided to delete everything. I am not talented enough to make this topic sound as exciting as it actually is. So, instead I will let some narrated CGI-rich videos do most of the talking for me!

The birth of a star 

Stars are formed inside relatively dense concentrations of interstellar gas and dust known as molecular clouds. Professor Stephen Hawking (narration by Benedict Cumberbatch) explains how they come to be:

Stars are born in big hydrogen clouds like the one pictured above

Not all stars are created equal

Now we know how stars are formed.. But not all stars are created equal! 

There are many different types of stars, ranging from tiny brown stars to red and blue super giants! And there are some other peculiar ones, like neutron stars and Wolf-Rayet stars. And with our knowledge expanding every passing day, it's possible that there are many types we still haven't discovered! Here's a great article explaining all the different types out there if you want to learn more about them.  [2]

And here's a video showing a size comparison between our sun and some true giants out there... The difference will blow your mind! 

A star

The death of a star

Not all stars are born equal and not all stars share the same death. For example, our sun will have a boring death, turning into a white dwarf that slowly cools down until nothing is left. But others go with a universe-shattering bang or turn into black holes sucking up everything and anything that gets too close to their high-gravity grasp. Here's a National Geographic video on the final moments of stars :

And here's a video with more details on the birth of black holes. The first guy looks so excited XD

A black hole

The End

Let me close this post with two more videos. Ever wondered what will happen if you trip and fall into a blackhole? Here's your answer:

And finally, here's what will happen to earth when our sun dies (full documentary) :

References

• Abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast122/lectures/lec13.html
• Universetoday.com/24299/types-of-stars/
• Nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-a-supernova.html

P.S.: This is my entry for the Curiosity Science Contest #1. Click here to learn more