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lave rings!
    9. A powerful explosion on the sun (2 words)
    10. A small rocky object that ortr'ts the sun
    FUN FACT
    Second Look
    Beginning astronomers occasionally think they have found twin stars, until they look at them through a larger telescope, only to find the second star is not even close to the other star!
    The First Star I See Tonight!
    Does it seem like there are a lot of faint stars when you look up at the sky? One reason this is true is because bright stars don’t last very long. Usually a white dwarf star is one that has used up all its fuel. If this star is “running out of gas,” how could it possibly become a nova that lights up the sky like fireworks and then go dim again? This happens because a nova has a companion star that pours its gas around the white dwarf until the surface of the dwarf star is burning again. Once the fuel is gone, so is the light. This second life can happen only once or it might happen many times, so keep an eye on the sky to see if you spot one! Would you think that a nova could be the brightest star in the sky? Many of the brightest stars are found in the constellations of the zodiac. Castor and Pollux are the two bright stars found in the well-known constellation of the Gemini twins. Another bright star is Aldebaran, which seems to form the eye of Taurus the bull. See if you can find Regulus, the bright star located at the base of Leo the lion’s tail. There are several bright stars in the super bright constellation called Pleiades that are also known as the seven sisters. They would all be good places to look for the brightest star near us, but we don’t have to travel very far or consult a star map in your newspaper to find the winner. If you guessed the brightest star close to Earth is the sun, you’re right. Most people forget that the sun is a star. From here, the sun is very bright, but if you wanted to look at the sun from another galaxy, you would need a very strong telescope to see it! See how many people you can fool when you ask them the question, “Do stars only come out at night?” If they say, “Yes,” ask them, “What about the sun?”
    Just for Fun
    What’s Your Sign?
    Do you know what your sign is according to the dates in astrology? If you are born near the beginning of the year, you may be an Aquarius or a Capricorn. If you were born in the summer you may fall under the sign of Cancer or Gemini. There are twelve signs in the zodiac all based on constellations.
    Happy Birthday to You
    How would you like to see a bunch of baby stars? Many astronomers say that one of the “stars” in the belt of the constellation Orion is a nebula filled with protostars, which is the last step before a star is born or becomes a true star! For a star to survive, the pressure from the burning fuel pushing outward must equal the gravity pulling inward. Have you ever flown in a hot air balloon? The heat of the fire forces the balloon up while gravity tries to pull the balloon back to the ground. Although a star like the sun is not very big during the middle of its life, it is much, much larger when it is forming and while it is dying. Do you think the star’s pressure change is what causes this to happen? If you said yes, you’re right!
    Orion has two giant stars in its constellation, a blue giant called Rigel and a red giant called Betelguese (pronounced beetle juice). Neither will have a long life as far as stars go. Huge stars like Rigel burn hotter and faster than a small star, so this red giant’s hydrogen is almost gone and it is starting to burn its core. The original size of a giant star will determine if it will burn to a cinder or explode into a supernova when it reaches the iron core. Scientists believe the explosions are caused when the iron puts out the fire that was keeping up the pressure inside the star’s core. Eventually gravity crushes it, then all of the contents, some too small to be seen,