Star explained to kids

A star is a huge ball of gas that produces its own light and heat. Stars are held together by their own gravity. The largest star we know of is called VY Canis Majoris. It is about 1,800 times the size of our own Sun! There are billions of stars in our galaxy alone. They come in different sizes, colors, and temperatures. The hottest stars are blue, while the coolest stars are red. Our Sun is a medium-sized, medium-temperature star. Stars are born when huge clouds of gas and dust collapse under their own gravity. As they collapse, they spin faster and faster. Eventually, they get so hot that nuclear fusion begins in their cores. This is when atoms of hydrogen are combined to make atoms of helium. Nuclear fusion releases a lot of energy, which makes the star shine. A star will shine for billions of years, until it runs out of hydrogen to fuse. When this happens, the star expands and cools down. It becomes a red giant. Eventually, the star will collapse in on itself and become incredibly dense. This is called a white dwarf. If the star is big enough, it will collapse into a neutron star or a black hole. We can't see black holes because they suck all the light in. But we can see neutron stars. They are incredibly dense, and they spin really fast! Most stars are part of a binary system, which means there are two stars orbiting each other. Sometimes three or more stars are orbiting each other. We call these systems multiple star systems. Stars are huge balls of gas that produce their own light and heat. Stars are held together by their own gravity. The largest star we know of is called VY Canis Majoris. It is about 1,800 times the size of our own Sun! There are billions of stars in our galaxy alone. They come in different sizes, colors, and temperatures. The hottest stars are blue, while the coolest stars are red. Our Sun is a medium-sized, medium-temperature star. Stars are born when huge clouds of gas and dust collapse under their own gravity. As they collapse, they spin faster and faster. Eventually, they get so hot that nuclear fusion begins in their cores. This is when atoms of hydrogen are combined to make atoms of helium. Nuclear fusion releases a lot of energy, which makes the star shine. A star will shine for billions of years, until it runs out of hydrogen to fuse. When this happens, the star expands and cools down. It becomes a red giant. Eventually, the star will collapse in on itself and become incredibly dense. This is called a white dwarf. If the star is big enough, it will collapse into a neutron star or a black hole. We can't see black holes because they suck all the light in. But we can see neutron stars. They are incredibly dense, and they spin really fast! Most stars are part of a binary system, which means there are two stars orbiting each other. Sometimes three or more stars are orbiting each other. We call these systems multiple star systems.