Stars fascinate children and even adults too. So let’s check out some interesting stars facts for children from this post and keep them intrigued and encouraged to learn more about them. They can know some spellbinding stuff such as, ‘How far are the stars?’ ‘How do they twinkle?’ ‘How many of them are there?’ and ‘Why aren’t they visible at night?’ Keep reading to find the answers to these questions and more. You can even host trivia games during weekends, read the facts aloud, and feed their curiosity pangs.
What Is A Star Made Of?
Stars are huge exploding balls of gases, mainly hydrogen and helium. They are so hot that the gases undergo a constant nuclear reaction, like in a hydrogen bomb(1). These stars shine by burning hydrogen into helium deep in their cores and then create heavy elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and iron. When all the fuel is used up, which could take billions of years, the star ejects its materials back into space, which then form a new star. Stars are of various sizes, and the closest star to our planet Earth is the Sun (2). Stars are constantly present but can be seen only at night due to the brightness of the Sun. At night, when the sky gets dimmer, the stars can be seen(3).
Types Of Stars For Kids
When you look up into the night sky, you will find innumerable stars beyond your imagination, and what you see is only a tiny part of it. Scientists have classified stars based on their spectra, which refers to the elements absorbed by them, and their temperature. Due to the variations in temperature, stars are of different colors and can be classified into the following (4).
1. O – type stars
These are the hottest stars and are blue. They are a million times brighter than the Sun.
2. B – type stars
These stars are blue-white and are hundred to thousand times brighter than the Sun.
3. A-type stars
These are white and are about ten times brighter than the Sun.
4. F – type stars
These stars are yellow to white and are brighter than the Sun.
5. G – type stars
These are yellow stars and are bright. Our Sun is a G star.
6. K – type stars
These stars are orange to red and are cold.
7. M – type stars
These stars are red and are the coldest stars.
Life Cycle Of Stars For Kids
The life cycle of a star starts from the giant clouds of dust and gases, known as nebulae. A nebula transforms into a protostar, which then becomes a main-sequence star. In this way, a star undergoes various transformations right from its birth and finally collapses to become a black hole (4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Let’s have a look at the various stages of a star.
1. Nebula
This is the first stage in the life cycle of a star. A star is formed from the nebula, which is a massive cloud of dust and gas in space. It is mainly composed of hydrogen. The nebula collapses under its own gravitational pull to form a protostar.
2. Protostar
The increasing gravity and pressure make the protostar collapse. This results in the formation of a pre-main sequence star, which then turns into a main sequence star as the hydrogen fusion starts.
3. Main sequence star
As the pre-main sequence star begins to release energy and stops contracting, it starts to shine and forms a main sequence star. Our Sun is among one of the main sequence stars. These stars vary in size, mass, and temperature but carry the same process in their cores. They convert hydrogen into helium, creating a massive amount of energy. The life span of main sequence stars depends on their size. As giant stars burn their fuel much faster, they may only last a few hundred thousand years, while smaller stars may last for several billion years because they burn their fuel much more slowly.
4. Red giant stars
When all the hydrogen is used up and the fusion stops, the main sequence stars enter the next stage. The hydrogen shell of the core ignites, causing the stars to expand about 100 times bigger than the main sequence star. The star then turns into a red giant.
5. White dwarf stars and supernova
When all the helium is used up in the core, and no other element is left to be used as a fuel, the red giant stars transform to white dwarf stars. The smaller stars collapse due to their own gravity as there is no more fusion reaction. Still, the stars may shine due to the immense heat before they cool down and turn into black dwarfs. Larger stars with more mass continue with the nuclear reaction and keep expanding until they explode, a phenomenon called a supernova. When a supernova occurs, it throws a huge amount of hot gases into space.
6. Blackhole or neutron stars
A massive supernova or explosion can leave behind a black hole or a neutron star.
28 Facts About Stars For Kids
Here are some interesting facts about stars that will pique your child’s interest (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (22), (23), (24), (25), (26), (27), (28), (29)
