Stars form a very important part of our solar system. These tiny luminous bodies are actually very large in size and it is only due to their massive distance from earth that they look so small. A star is a huge, shining ball of plasma, whose shine is a result of thermonuclear fusion that takes place within its core. Sun, the centre of our Solar System, is also a star and that too the nearest one. In case you want to know more about stars, explore the interesting and fun facts provided about them, in the lines that follow.
Interesting & Fun Facts about the Stars
- A star is a colossal, glowing ball of plasma.
- The star that is nearest to earth is the Sun.
- Almost all elements that are heavier than hydrogen and helium were created inside the core of stars.
- The formation of a star begins with a gravitational instability inside a molecular cloud, which is often triggered by shockwaves from supernovae (massive stellar explosions) or the collision of two galaxies (as in a starburst galaxy).
- Stars are first formed as clouds of gas and dust. In fact, they basically comprise of hydrogen gas.
- Stars are very hot and give off huge amounts of energy, in the form of heat and light.
- Stars spend about 90% of their lifetime fusing hydrogen, to produce helium in high-temperature, and in high-pressure reactions near the core.
- Every star generates a stellar wind of particles that causes a continual outflow of gas into space.
- Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old.
- The oldest star yet discovered is HE 1523-0901, which is an estimated 13.2 billion years old.
- Huge main sequence stars can have surface temperatures of up to 50,000 K.
- Stars that have really strong gravity become smaller and smaller with time and eventually, turn into black holes.
- Stars come in different colors. While hot stars give off blue light, cooler stars give off red light.
- Some stars are 600,000 times as bright as our sun.
- All the stars that make up Milky Way Galaxy revolve around the center of the galaxy once every 200 million years or so.
- Stars twinkle because the light we see coming from them travels through the atmosphere around the earth and there is turbulence in the earth's atmosphere.
