Hobbies And Interests
Color
Stars vary in color from orange to yellow to blue or white. Blue stars are very hot and usually burn their fuel quickly, while cooler yellow and orange stars like our Sun burn fuel more slowly, sometimes burning for billions of years.
Supernovae
Not all stars simply fade to black. After millions of years, stars that are more than three times as massive as our Sun may explode in a cataclysmic event called a supernova, spewing material many light years away.
Life Stages
Most stars pass through at least four different stages of development (depending on their mass). It can take millions, or even billions, of years to go from being a new star, to a main sequence, a red giant/supergiant and finally a white dwarf/neutron star.
Nuclear Power
It is nuclear fusion in a star's core which keeps a star burning brightly. This process involves the conversion of hydrogen into helium, and can take millions of years depending on the amount of hydrogen in a star.
Final Stages
A star that has reached its final stage is effectively dead, as it no longer shines; however, unless it has exploded in a supernova, it will continue to occupy its space unless a cataclysmic event nearby destroys the star's shell.
Black Holes
Stars in the proximity of a black hole will begin to lose mass long before they progress through the main sequence, thereby shortening their natural lifespan.