Stars: the magic of the night sky
At night, the sky sparkles with tiny diamonds — each one is a star.
Come take a look. Stars do more than just glow. They keep our planet warm and guide us through the night. They help bring to life everything in the universe, including us!
No wonder stars seem so magical…as if they could make any wish come true.
Stars might look tiny, but they’re actually huge — way bigger than Earth!
If you look through a telescope, you’ll see that stars are balls of gas that burn all the time, like giant fires in space.
We don’t feel their heat because they’re thousands of light years away. Except for one star: the Sun.
The Sun is not the biggest star, but it looks giant because it’s so close to us. Close enough to keep the Earth warm, so things can grow.
You could actually fit thousands of Earths inside one star, just like filling a school bus with toy cars.
A light year is how far light travels in a year. This means that when we look at stars, we’re seeing them as they were many years ago. Their light takes a long time to reach us.
Stars are born in giant clouds called Nebulae
Gravity pulls gas and dust from these clouds into tight clumps. As more gas and dust get squished in, the clump gets heavier and hotter.
When the temperature reaches millions of degrees, the clump lights up and becomes a star!
Most stars are born in clusters. They come from the same fluffy nebulae, so they end up hanging out close together in space.
Stars live for a long time — some for billions of years! Smaller stars live longer, because they burn more slowly. When they run out of gas, they cool down and fade.
The biggest, brightest stars burn out faster. When they do, they explode in a massive burst called a supernova.
Astronomers use telescopes in observatories to study such stars. They say the supernova scatters carbon and oxygen across space. These elements help create new stars, planets, and even living things — like you! That’s why scientists say “we’re all made of stardust.”
Stars have guided us for thousands of years
Sailors and explorers used the North Star to help them navigate
The North Star stays in almost the same spot in the sky, so it became a trusty guide. People even made star maps to help them stay on course while sailing across the ocean. They still use those maps today, just in case technology stops working.
Some animals, like whales and birds, also use stars to find their way on long trips.
Before clocks, people told time by looking at the night sky
They picked groups of stars that formed pictures, called constellations. As the constellation moved across the sky, people could guess the rough hour.
The Egyptians used the star Sirius before calendars
Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, after the Sun. When Sirius rose in the morning sky around mid-July, it meant the Nile River would soon flood.
Legend says that when Sirius shone in the eye of a goddess statue, the Egyptians would open the canals to their fields. That way, their crops got the right amount of water.
Why do we wish upon stars?
A long time ago, people believed that stars were magical and could make wishes come true.
When stars twinkle in the sky, it feels like a cozy time to dream. If you’re lucky, you might see a shooting star!
A shooting star isn’t actually a star. It’s a tiny piece of rock flying through space. When it gets close to Earth, it heats up and shines bright in the sky.
Just lying under the stars, with the Earth below you, makes it seem like anything is possible.
After all, there is magic in dreaming…
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