Chapter 1 Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour
Chapter 1 Science and the Universe: A Brief Tour
Chapter 2 Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy
Chapter 2 Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy
Chapter 2 Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy
Chapter 2 Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy
Chapter 3 Orbits and Gravity
Chapter 3 Orbits and Gravity
Chapter 4 Earth, Moon, and Sky
Chapter 4 Earth, Moon, and Sky
Chapter 5 Radiation and Spectra
Chapter 5 Radiation and Spectra
Chapter 5 Radiation and Spectra
Chapter 6 Astronomical Instruments
Chapter 6 Astronomical Instruments
Chapter 6 Astronomical Instruments
Chapter 7 Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System
Chapter 7 Other Worlds: An Introduction to the Solar System
Chapter 8 Earth as a Planet
Chapter 8 Earth as a Planet
Chapter 9 Cratered Worlds
Chapter 9 Cratered Worlds
Chapter 9 Cratered Worlds
Chapter 12 Rings, Moons, and Pluto
Chapter 12 Rings, Moons, and Pluto
Chapter 12 Rings, Moons, and Pluto
Chapter 14 Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System
Chapter 15 The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star
Chapter 15 The Sun: A Garden-Variety Star
Chapter 16 The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse
Chapter 16 The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse
Chapter 17 Analyzing Starlight
Chapter 18 The Stars: A Celestial Census
Chapter 18 The Stars: A Celestial Census
Chapter 18 The Stars: A Celestial Census
Chapter 19 Celestial Distances
Chapter 19 Celestial Distances
Chapter 19 Celestial Distances
Chapter 20 Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space
Chapter 20 Between the Stars: Gas and Dust in Space
Chapter 21 The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar Sys
Chapter 21 The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar Sys
Chapter 22 Stars from Adolescence to Old Age
Chapter 22 Stars from Adolescence to Old Age
Chapter 22 Stars from Adolescence to Old Age
Chapter 23 The Death of Stars
Chapter 23 The Death of Stars
Chapter 24 Black Holes and Curved Spacetime
Chapter 24 Black Holes and Curved Spacetime
Chapter 25 The Milky Way Galaxy
Chapter 25 The Milky Way Galaxy
Chapter 25 The Milky Way Galaxy
Chapter 26 Galaxies
Chapter 26 Galaxies
Chapter 27 Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes
Chapter 27 Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes
Chapter 28 The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies
Chapter 28 The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies
Chapter 28 The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies
Chapter 29 The Big Bang
Chapter 30 Life in the Universe
Chapter 30 Life in the Universe
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Chapter 18 The Stars: A Celestial Census
Chapter 18 The Stars: A Celestial Census
18.0 Thinking Ahead
How do stars form? How long do they live? And how do they die? Stop and think how hard it is to answer these questions.
Stars live such a long time that nothing much can be gained from staring at one for a human lifetime. To discover how stars evolve from birth to death, it was necessary to measure the characteristics of many stars (to take a celestial census, in effect) and then determine which characteristics help us understand the stars’ life stories. Astronomers tried a variety of hypotheses about stars until they came up with the right approach to understanding their development. But the key was first making a thorough census of the stars around us.
Please note that this book in its original format can be downloaded for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/astr.