THE MYSTERIES OF THE NIGHT SKY

Every night, we are dazzled about those sparkling little objects up in the bold night sky. We think, what are those really? Do they really move? How far are those twinkling objects from where we are? Overtime, stories are told about the wonders of the night sky. These stories then turned into myths and legends. These observations are the beginnings of astronomy.

Many of the things we see in the night sky are stars, large objects in space that produce light. Stars are so far away that their light does not reach us for years. As light from so far away passes through our atmosphere, it is moved around which makes the stars seem to twinkle. So, what are stars made of? Most stars are made of gases and gas-like substance called plasma. Some stars are made of tiny particles. These subatomic particles can be closely packed together, which makes some stars extremely dense.

A star is born out of a mass of clouds and gas called nebula. Gravity causes hydrogen gas in the nebula to spin. As it spins, it becomes hotter and begins to glow. But of course, stars don’t last forever. When the hydrogen in a star runs low, the star can no longer sustain nuclear fusion. It can no longer turn hydrogen into helium. This is when a star’s fire begins to cool and thus, begins to die. As most stars cool, they turn red.