Stars

 Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org

A star is  massive, luminous plasma held together by gravity. The star nearest to the Earth is the Sun. A star is formed in a nebula. Some famous nebulas are the Crab nebula, Eagle nebula etc.

Crab Nebula. Photo:NASA

Stars are not visible during the day time because the sun is close to us and is blocking us from seeing it. However in the night, when we face away from the sun, stars are visible. A group of stars that make a pattern are called constellations. Some examples of constellations are Orion, Ursa Major, Canis Major etc.

Like everything else, stars are born, lives and then dies. When very massive stars explode, it is called a supernova. Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. However, the oldest star discovered is  HE 1523-0901 which is 13.2 billion years old. 

When a system of millions of billions of stars together with gas and dust held together by gravitational attraction is called a galaxy. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way.

F.A.Q

   1. What is the brightest star?

Sirius in the constellation Canis Major

   2. Do stars really twinkle?

No. They look like they are twinkling because of the Earth's fuzzy atmosphere.

   3. A short definition for stars:

Huge balls of burning gas

   4. How to find a star without mistaking it by a planet?

Stars look like twinkling. Planets don't