The Lives of Stars |
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| Author:
| Croswell, Ken |
| ISBN: | 978-1-59078-582-9 |
| Publication Date: | Sep 2009 |
| Publisher: | Highlights Press, c/o Highlights for Children, Inc.
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| Book Format: | Hardback |
| List Price: | USD $19.95 |
Book Description:
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The fiery birth, explosive death, and strange afterlife of every sun. Scientists have discovered a tremendous variety of star types, each with a fascinating biography and a strange fate in store. Born in a cloud of gas and dust, a new star is ignited by the explosion of a dying star nearby. A star such as our Sun has a long life. Over billions of years, it burns yellow, then red, as it uses up its nuclear fuel. It then throws much of its material into the universe in a planetary...
More DescriptionThe fiery birth, explosive death, and strange afterlife of every sun. Scientists have discovered a tremendous variety of star types, each with a fascinating biography and a strange fate in store. Born in a cloud of gas and dust, a new star is ignited by the explosion of a dying star nearby. A star such as our Sun has a long life. Over billions of years, it burns yellow, then red, as it uses up its nuclear fuel. It then throws much of its material into the universe in a planetary nebula--one of the most spectacular sights in space. After the nebula disperses, the hot core of the dead star remains: it's called a white dwarf. A bigger star lives fast and dies young, burning a blue-white and finally exploding in a supernova. What remains may be a black hole, a neutron star, or a pulsar--a neutron star emitting beams of deadly radiation. Using the most beautiful photos of space objects available, Harvard-trained astronomer Ken Croswell leads a tour of the stars--the young,the aging, and the dead but still active.