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Throwback Thursday: The Lives and Deaths of Sun-Like Stars (Synopsis)

By esiegel on April 10, 2014.

“Man alone is born crying, lives complaining, and dies disappointed.” -Samuel Johnson

You might look up at our Sun in the sky, delighted at its brilliance and life-giving brightness, thankful for all it's brought to our world. But we're all just a little bit dismayed at the crushing realization that it won't live forever, and will someday burn through its fuel and die.

Image credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: W. Sparks (STScI) and R. Sahai (JPL). Image credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: W. Sparks (STScI) and R. Sahai (JPL).

But the Sun is a very common type of star, and shares certain properties with the vast majority of them. In fact, Sun-like stars have a pretty universal story as far as where they came from, how they live, the different stages they go through and what happens to them as they end their lives. It's a story nearly as old as the Universe itself, and a story that will continue to go on for trillions of years.

Image credit: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (Deep Sky Colors), of Messier 45. Image credit: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (Deep Sky Colors), of Messier 45.

Go read the whole thing here.

Tags
Astronomy
Stars

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