Emma
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How a Star Expands
Meet Betelgeuse, a bright star in the winter constellation Orion. Betelgeuse is a cool red supergiant that we’ll talk about a lot more in just a couple weeks, when we cover variable stars. Not too long ago, it was the…
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The Adult Life of a Star
Stars are like cars. They need fuel to go. And also like cars, they don’t have an infinite supply. But here’s where the metaphor breaks down. They can never refuel. Yup. That’s right. For their entire lives, stars are stuck…
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Stars: The Limits of “Normal”
How big — or small — can a star get? As with most questions in astronomy, the answer to that is not definitive. But stellar models can give us a pretty good idea. Mathematical models of stars tell us that…
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What is a “Normal” Star?
If we were talking about people, I’d say there’s no such thing as a “normal” person. We’re all weird in our own way — that’s what makes us unique and ourselves. However, there’s such a thing as a functional human…
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What Goes On Inside a Star?
Our sun is undoubtedly the star we know the best. It’s only 93 million miles away — which might seem far, but isn’t that large a distance when you realize that the nearest neighboring star is a whole 4.3 light-years…
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What Keeps a Star Stable?
All life as we know it has to maintain homeostasis — that is, keep internal goings-on regulated. Body temperature is just one example. Mammals can maintain a stable body temperature with no trouble. Reptiles have to bask in the sun…
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Observations of Star Birth
Astronomers have a pretty solid idea of how stars are born. They begin within the dense, cold dust of an interstellar cloud such as this one. They heat up and get more luminous as they contract, and then drop in…
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The Story of a Newborn Star
What happens when a star is born? A couple of posts ago, I explained how a protostar forms out of a dense cloud core within the interstellar medium. But…wait. What exactly is a protostar again? A protostar forms when one…
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What is Contagious Star Formation?
Recognize this nebula? Yeah…we’re talking about the Orion Nebula again. I know, we already took a tour through the Orion constellation in my last post…but there’s still more to cover about how stars come to life, and Orion is still the…
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The Orion Nebula: A Stellar Nursery
One of my favorite objects to show people at astronomy outreach events is the Orion Nebula. Not only does it reside within a fairly well-known constellation, but it’s a gorgeous sight to see with a good telescope. There’s no time like…
