Stars and Black Holes

Besides the nine planets, there are numerous other bodies in orbit. Most of the planets have moons, which are in constant orbit around them. There are also trillions of stars in space, as well as comets, meteors, and asteroids.

Stars are classified by their different temperatures, which cause them to be different colors. The main classifications of stars are red, yellow, and bluish white.

Stars are born from a cloud of gas and dust, which comes from old planets, comets, meteors, or asteroids that have been destroyed or had pieces tore off of them. These clouds of gas and dust move closer together and form a ball. The ball gets hotter and starts to make energy. As energy is made, the ball gets bigger and bigger until it forms an adult star.  

Stars continue to burn and glow for about 10,000 years until they consume or use all the hydrogen gas that is in them. Then they die.

When a star dies several things can happen. All stars turn into red giants or super giants at the end of their lives.

During the red giant stage, a star swells up so big, it could swallow Earth, Venus, and Mercury. As a star continues to grow it eventually starts to run out of energy. It will collapse and shrink and become a nova that continues to emit some energy for awhile. When all the energy is gone, it becomes a white dwarf or black dwarf star. It is then a dead star that creates no energy and drifts in space.

If it continues to build energy, it can swell so much that it creates an explosion called a super nova. Supernovas spew all their energy and debris out into space and are then classified as nebulas.

Nebulas are clouds of gas and dust that are recycled as they join together with other clouds that float between the stars. This is called interstellar dust. These clouds get thicker as they combine together, form balls of energy, and over a span of thousands of years, form a new star.  

No one knows for sure how a black hole is formed from dying stars, but theories suggest that when certain stars die, they create a gravity around them. This gravity spins them faster and faster until they are rotating faster than the speed of light. This makes a vacuum similar to a tornado that “sucks” anything nearby inside its spinning core.

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Questions and comments: [email protected]  last revised 7/2005