Introduction
Many scientists come to a collective agreement when discussing ‘What are stars made of?‘ Believed to be made of hot gases, why do they glow; there has been non-extensive research on these components.
The Sun is a familiar star to us. But, what exactly is a star? A star is a plasma ball whose main component is hot hydrogen and helium gas. The light that we see from the Earth, which is generated by the stars, is made as a result of nuclear fusion to give out photons.
How do we know what stars are made of? What are Stars Made of?
As we have stated before, stars will always exist naturally. What do I mean when I say naturally? Beyond what stars are made of, we need to know how they exist. Stars exist as a result of gravitational pull in space.
A combination of many stars existing together is known as a galaxy. However, the galaxy is also home to the stars, where their formation begins and their own gravitational pull grows it’s their mass.
The galaxies and stars form from nebulae. These are large clouds that constitute hot gases and dust particles. Gravity is a force that exerts a gravitational pull, which brings things to a common center. When gravity acts on the nebulae, the clouds get tightly compacted and hence their density increases.
This causes them to break at higher temperatures of up to a million degrees Celsius. When hydrogen gas is exposed to much higher temperatures, then helium gas is formed too. Many helium atoms will then combine through nuclear fusion, and this is where a star begins its life cycle.
Within our current understanding, we hypothesize stars made of condensing nebulae formed from intense gravitational pulls and their stardust.
Stars as part of the living organisms
Scientists will tell you that stars are living organisms. From the discussion that we have heard, stars made of nebulae are “born” and have a life cycle. It sounds absurd, right? Once the helium atoms have fused, they combine further to form carbon. Carbon is the number one co pound in any living organism under the sun, which is a star also. Carbon is a chemical that no living organism can survive without.
Neutron stars
You have heard neutron stars being mentioned several times by older folks or science teachers, but you have never come to experience them. No one has ever experienced a neutron star to tell the tale. These stars are very dangerous and can cause massive destruction and harm when they make their way to the earth.
So, what is neutron star made of and how is it formed? We have mentioned that stars made of cloud dust and extreme gravitational forces have a life cycle. Stars also vary in sizes just like other living organisms. Giant stars will always collapse after dying in a supernova and destroy the protons and electrons in them.
These electrons and neutrons, once dissolved, will melt into each other to form neutrons. Massive neutron stars made of destroyed electrons and protons is believed can weigh up to 1.4 times more weight than that of the sun.
Types of neutron stars
There are various types of neutron stars with different masses and different radioactive emissions. This aspect makes them one of the most dangerous space creatures that have never been witnessed by the human race.
The most common type of neutron stars, whose affects can be seen from the earth, is the pulsars. These stars exert beaming lights that pass through the earth at a terrific speed and that is how they were named pulsars. Pulsars you have probably come across before include recycled pulsars, millisecond pulsars, and soft Gama ray and radio pulsars.
Scientists discovered that pulsars, if well used, can be so essential when it comes to spaceflight navigation. Neutron stars have powerful magnetic fields which make them take a long time completing a single rotation on their axes.
Stars are useful
Many people see stars as just heavenly bodies that decorate the universe and skies at night. However, it is also important to note that we all exist because of stars, and they, too do so because of us. We are both living organisms and hence interdependent. Nevertheless, we need stars more than they need us.
The whole of the planet Earth revolves around what the cosmos stars constitute. These include hydrogen and helium atoms. Planet Earth would have never existed without these atoms.
Stars are also useful because at the end of every cycle, they disintegrate and the materials are blown into the earth. It was just stated that stars are rich in carbon and that is what we need for our body formation.
Back on earth, no life would have ever existed without heat energy from the sun. The sun is the most common star that plants depend on to manufacture their food, something that we feed on too. So, no stars means no food, which means no life. That is how essential starts are to humanity.
Sun and Stars
We are hoping that you have learned much about stars and what stars are made of. As dangerous and massive stars are, stars are also beautiful heavenly bodies necessary for life and the world as we know it.
Interested in more space articles that are out of this world? WeeklyReviewer loves space! Read through our Dive Deeper Science Reviews.
Check out our article on Black Holes and Solar flares for another interesting read! For more on how stars are formed, I recommend NASA’s page on stars for a quick read!
