Myth vs Reality: Star Life Cycle

 

 

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach.

 

All images, illustrations, and videos courtesy of NASA, ESA, and STScI except:

 

·       Image of reflection nebula NGC 1788 courtesy of T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF) & S. Pakzad (NOAO/AURA/NSF)

·       Taurus constellation drawing from Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia by Johannes Hevelius, courtesy of the United States Naval Observatory

·       Orion constellation photo courtesy of Akira Fujii

·       Illustration of circumstellar disk and jets courtesy of ESO/L. Calçada/M. Kornmesser

·       Image of HH 34 jets courtesy of ESO

·       Star formation animation courtesy of Aimei Kutt (Brown University/STScI)

 

 

Written by Vanessa Thomas

Designed by John Godfrey

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Top left, a black and white picture of a minotaur. Top right, a color picture of a nebula. 

 

Text, MYTH versus REALITY 

 

Myth side 

 

Text, The same stars have been around forever. 

 

Reality side 

 

Text, Every star eventually dies. The matter from those stars is recycled back into their surroundings, even becoming part of new stars. New stars are constantly forming from clouds of dust and gas called molecular clouds. Stars have been forming throughout most of the universe's history. Some stars are very old, but others have formed quite recently.