1. The Birth & Death of Stars
By John Busza

2. How Stars Are Formed
All stars are created from gases and materials swirling around in space
These gases are found in nebulas, such as the one in the background
Gases and materials clump together until a gravitational pull is created
More and more gases and materials are brought close together
Once a the mass is large, dense, and hot enough, nuclear fusion begins

3. The Life of a Star A star uses nuclear fusion to produce energy
The larger a star is, the less time it will produce energy
A star the size of the sun will last for about 10 billion years, a star smaller than the sun for about 100 billion years, a giant star for a few million years, and a supergiant star for a million years

4. The Death of a Star Different stars have different deaths
A star the size of the sun or smaller will condense into a dwarf star and simply fade away over time
A giant star will create a supernova and then condense into a neutron star, which may create a pulsar
A supergiant star will create a supernova and then condense into a black hole, which may create a quasar

5. Supernovas A supernova is created when a giant or supergiant star dies
The core of the star collapses and creates a colossal explosion
Supernovas are visible for a short time, and send huge amounts of gases and material into space
These materials usually create nebulas

6. Black Holes
Black holes are formed from the remains of a supernova from a supergiant star
These remains are packed into one tiny, extremely dense mass
The gravitational pull is so strong that nothing can escape, even light, hence the name “black hole”
It is believed that there is a black hole in the centre of our galaxy

7. Pulsars Pulsars occur when a neutron star is very small and dense
This size creates large amounts of electromagnetic radiation, which is only visible on the two opposite poles of the star
A pulsar is a very rare event

8. Quasars Quasar is short for QUASi-stellAR radio source
A quasar occurs when a stars output level is greatly reduced, and then suddenly increased
This only occurs when it is being sucked into a giant black hole

9. Works Cited List
Hamade, R. (1996). Black Holes. Retrieved May 18, 2006, from Cambridge Relativity and Cosmology Web site:
Hirsch, A.J. (1999). Science 9. Scarborough, Ontario: Nelson.
Sipiera, P. (1997). Black Holes. New York, New York: Children's Press.
Pulsar. (2005). In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved May20, 2006, from
Quasar. (2005). In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved May20, 2006, from
Tyler, P. (2003). Supernova. Retrieved May 16, 2006, from NASA'S HEARSARC Web site: